A Hidden Story at the Iowa State Penitentiary
The Secret Beneath the Surface
Sometimes the most fascinating stories come in the smallest packages — or in this case, tucked behind a checkerboard.
On a recent visit to the North Lee County Historical Society, a mother and daughter from Ohio came by to check on a family heirloom they had donated the year before. The item? A beautifully hand-crafted wooden checkerboard, created by an inmate at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison sometime in the late 1800s.
The inmate’s name has been lost to history — but the secret he left behind certainly hasn’t.
The checkerboard was a gift to turnkey Leigh Jones, a prison staff member at the time. For years, the Jones family used it for games, never suspecting anything unusual. Eventually, it was placed into storage, left to dry out and grow brittle.
Then one day, while rearranging items in their furnace room, Mrs. Jones picked it up — and a hidden panel on the back fell open. Inside, lined with velvet, was a secret compartment… and inside that? A cache of contraband tools: 12 files and two small saw blades.
We may never know if the tools were ever used or meant for escape, but we can admire the craftsmanship and cleverness of the design — a real piece of local history with a twist of mystery.
Want to see the checkerboard (and its secret) in person? Visit the North Lee County Historical Society inside the historic Santa Fe Depot Complex in Fort Madison.
