The Oconee County Cage: A South Carolina jail on wheels

The Oconee County Cage is a metal jail on wheels that served as a housing and transport unit for prisoners on the chain gang during the early twentieth century. Located today at Browns Square Drive outside of the Oconee Heritage Center in Walhalla, South Carolina, the cage was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. At the time of its listing, it was considered the most intact cage in the state. Oconee County has preserved the cage as a reminder of the harsh conditions faced by convicts during this period.

In 1915, reports showed the chain gang was working on the Oconee Station Road. At that time, there were two cages - one held four white men and the other held eight African-American men. The convicts were served meals of bacon, biscuits, syrup, and coffee for breakfast, while dinner consisted of cabbage, bacon, and cornbread. By 1918, the chain gang only included African Americans, as white convicts were held at the jail or sent to the state penitentiary. The cage, which was built around 1900, featured a chassis with wheels and a metal tongue where draft animals were hitched to pull the load.

The structure is approximately 14 feet long and 8 feet wide. It features a solid metal front, top, and floor, with metal bars and riveted strips forming the sides. Inside, the cage contained four metal bunk beds and a metal barrel in the center for a fire. While the cages were used for housing and transport, they were no longer used in the 1930s when the county transitioned to gasoline-powered trucks and a new jail. Today, the cage remains a preserved piece of local history.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons