Slaughter believes the notion that the jail is haunted is in part due to the fact that there have been four known deaths in the building: a prisoner died of a heart attack, another prisoner fell three-stories trying to carve his name on the jail's ceiling, another prisoner hung himself, and an officer was shot when a ...

Though captivating in theory, in practice the revolving jails had complications. Prisoners could have legs or arms severed as their cells moved past the stationary bars. The rotary mechanisms were prone to mechanical problems, and the massive three story cage of Council Bluffs' jail proved difficult to keep in balance.

The Jail was built in 1885 and was in continuous use until 1969. It was acquired by the Council Bluffs Park Board in 1971 for preservation, and was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 by the United States Government.