Old Izard County Jail (Melbourne)

Last year, we met our friend, Steve Wheeler, at the Old Izard County Jail located just behind the Courthouse in Melbourne. This jail housed Mary Durant who was eventually acquitted for murder for the slaying of her abusive step-father back in 1943. Over 1,000 people attended the trial in and around the Courthouse when she was acquitted. A few years later, during the largest manhunt in Arkansas history, Rubert Byler's mother, father, and brother were detained here as he and his wife avoided capture for several weeks hiding in caves and barns around Boswell. The building was erected in 1939 to house prisoners after the old brick courthouse burned on December 5th, 1938. The cage, however, was in use long before in a wood-framed or log building.

For an interesting article from the time of the Mary Durant case. click here.