Old Kendall County Jail For Sale

YORKVILLE, IL — Nearly a year after the old Kendall County Jail was sold to developer Peter McKnight, of KCJ Restoration LLC for restoration, the Madison Street property is now for sale. According to WSPY, McKnight planned to turn the old downtown jail into five residential units and some commercial space, with the city helping by reimbursing the developer some of the funds and waving normal construction fees.

While McKnight still has a goal to finish the restoration, he doesn't currently have the money for the rest. According to WSPY, some of the restoration work has been completed on the inside and outside the property. Restoration is estimated to cost around $800,000, WSPY added.

According to the news report, the online listing for the jail shows a selling price of $373,000.

According to a post on the city's website titled "History of the Old Kendall County Sheriff’s Residence and Jail in Yorkville, Illinois," the jail was built during the late 1800s.

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"The August 16, 1893 issue of the Kendall County Record newspaper reported that the
price tag for the new sheriff’s residence ad jail was $9,622.33. The final accounting of the
County Supervisors had the total cost at $9,976.25.

The sheriff of Kendall County was responsible for performing his sheriff duties as well as
janitorial duties and landscape maintenance on the jail and courthouse. For this he was paid
$1000 a year in 1894. He and his wife also received 40 cents a day per prisoner in board. By
1895 the county supervisors agreed to add 50 cents a day to the sheriffs pay for all the janitorial
and landscaping work he performed."

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