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Reported phenomena — as catalogued
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1882 Crown Point Jail and Site of Dillinger's 1934 Escape
226 South Main Street, Crown Point, IN 46307
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages for daytime; minimum age applies for evening events
Cost
$$
Daytime tour and seasonal ghost-hunt pricing varies. Check the Old Sheriff's House Foundation for current schedule and rates.
Access
Limited Access
Historic jail with stairs and original cell corridors
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1882 · Site of John Dillinger's March 1934 Escape · Filming Location for Public Enemies (2009) · Lake County Sheriff's Residence and Jail Complex
The Lake County Sheriff's House and Jail was completed in 1882 on South Main Street in Crown Point, Indiana. The original building had ten cells, six for men and four for women, and incorporated a sheriff's residence on the upper floor. The complex was expanded in 1928 to a total cell capacity of approximately 150.
The jail's best-known incident is the escape of John Dillinger on March 3, 1934. Dillinger had been arrested in Tucson, Arizona on January 25, 1934, and extradited to Crown Point to stand trial for the murder of police officer William O'Malley during the East Chicago First National Bank robbery. According to the documented account preserved by the Old Sheriff's House Foundation, Dillinger fashioned a fake handgun from a piece of wood, darkened with shoe polish, and used it to bluff his way out of the jail with hostages. He stole a sheriff's car and drove across the Illinois state line, which violated the Dyer Act and brought federal jurisdiction into his case. Dillinger was killed by FBI agents outside Chicago's Biograph Theater on July 22, 1934.
The jail continued in use as the Lake County jail until the mid-twentieth century. The Old Sheriff's House Foundation has restored the building and operates it for daytime tours, special events, and occasional paranormal-investigation events. The site was used as a filming location for the 2009 Universal Pictures film Public Enemies, with Johnny Depp as Dillinger.
Sources
The Old Sheriff's House Foundation maintains a paranormal-reports log compiled from volunteer staff and visitor experiences over the foundation's tenure. The reports are consistent across multiple decades and concentrate in three areas: the original cellblocks, the upper-floor sheriff's residence, and the kitchen and basement of the residence.
Documented categories of reports include apparitions seen in the cell corridors, particularly at the end of long sight lines after dark; photographs that consistently show unexplained shadow shapes or light artifacts in specific cells; doors that open and close without an identified mechanical cause; and disembodied footsteps and voices reported by volunteers conducting after-hours preservation work.
The jail was featured on Season 11 of Syfy's Ghost Hunters. American Hauntings Ghost Hunts and several regional Indiana paranormal investigation groups have run repeated overnight investigations and published recordings purported to capture EVP and document EMF anomalies in the Dillinger cellblock.
The Foundation presents these reports as documentary artifact and does not advance specific identifications of named historical figures with the reported phenomena. Visitors interested in the jail's documented history can pair the daytime tour with reading materials at the Lake County Historical Society.
Media Appearances
Tour an 1882 jail complex including the original cellblock John Dillinger escaped from on March 3, 1934. Interpretation covers the jail's pre-war construction, the documented circumstances of Dillinger's escape (he had been extradited from Tucson on a murder charge), and the building's later use as a filming location for the 2009 film Public Enemies.
American Hauntings Ghost Hunts and other operators run periodic overnight or evening investigations of the jail. Sessions include access to the cellblocks, the sheriff's residence, and the corridors where staff and visitors have reported apparitions and unexplained sounds.
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