Richmond Jail Site

The Richmond Jail site sits a few blocks north of the Ray County Courthouse in Richmond. In November 1838, Joseph Smith and other leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were brought up on charges of treason in connection with conflicts with local Missouri militia. Between appearances in court, officers held Joseph and ten other prisoners in the Richmond County Jail.

Richmond is the seat of the county government in Ray County. Many leaders in the Missouri militia came from Ray County, and the Battle of Crooked River, a skirmish between a small group of Saints and the militia, took place in Ray County. Due to these connections Richmond was a logical place to hold these legal proceedings. After almost a month, the court ordered that Joseph Smith and five other prisoners be transferred from Richmond to Liberty Jail to await trial in the spring. Parley P. Pratt and four other men remained in Richmond Jail until July 1839.

Parley P. Pratt, one of the men imprisoned with the prophet, remembered Joseph’s reaction to the guards boasting about the violent crimes they had committed against the Latter-day Saints at Far West, Missouri. Parley recounted how Joseph scolded the guards and demanded they stop using such terrible language about hurting the Saints.

Read more about the Richmond Jail in Saints, Volume 1, Chapter 31.

What to Expect

The Richmond Jail is no longer standing. The Mormon Missouri Frontier Foundation has placed a marker and a picket fence to identify the jail site within the surrounding suburban neighborhood. There is limited street parking.