A regular feature looking back at what was being printed more than 100 years ago in the Bristol Daily Courier. This week’s entry comes from the September 24, 1919 edition of the newspaper.
Two Men Break Jail In Tullytown; Not Yet Captured
Two male prisoners in the borough lock-up took “French leave” sometime late Sunday night or early Monday morning and made good their escape from the antiquated jail. Both men are still at liberty and their whereabouts are a mystery.
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Recently it has been the custom for the Harriman police authorities to take all their prisoners before Justice Cooper for trial. Previously, they had tried them at Bristol before Justice Kraft. When tried in Bristol, they were always held in the Bristol headquarters, which, while somewhat antique in appearance has always proven to be of significant strength to hold those securely those placed within its walls.
Justice Cooper, of course, holds prisoners appearing before him in the Tullytown jail, which is a small one-story brick structure, separated into two rooms. The windows are covered with heavy iron bars and a one iron rod slides across the door that fastens with a lock which looks as though it would hold ten times the capacity of the miniature jail.
The interior of the place is not much of an improvement over Bristol’s municipal house of detention. There are bunks arranged along the walls in the form of shelves. These are covered with straw or hay and the place is without heat or any conveniences or accommodations whatsoever. It is located in an out of way place on a back street and unless it was pointed out to a stranger it would be considered as an out building of one of the farms nearby.
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Sunday afternoon Chief Mulhall, of the Harriman police, arrested Walter Clark, 20 years of age, and William Smith, 21 years of age.
The chief brought his prisoners and securely fastened them in the “jail” where they were to awaiting a hearing Monday morning at 9:30 before Justice Cooper.
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When the chief visited the borough jail Monday morning to get his prisoners to take them before the Justice, he was dumfounded to find the door open and the cells empty.
On investigation, it was found that the men had ripped a board loose from one of their bunks and used it as a pry against the bottom of the main door which they succeeded in loosening.
No trace of the men has been found and the hearing as a consequence has been called off.
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An advertisement from the September 24, 1919 edition of the Bristol Daily Courier:
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