Lower Lake Stone Jail now defunct, and has been designated California Historical Landmark #429. Lower Lake Stone Jail Lower Lake Stone Jail, in Lower Lake, California, is a one-room jail claimed to be the smallest jail in the United States, was erected in 1876 of stone locally quarried and reinforced with iron. During the days of the first quicksilver operations of the Sulphur Bank Mine, lasting from 1873 to 1883, rapid town growth and the urgent need for civil order necessitated the building of a jail. Stephen Nicolai, one of the first stonemasons in Lower Lake, built the jail from local materials with the
Lower Lake, California that Lower Lake had a population of 1,294. The population density was 480.8 people per square mile (185.6/km²). The racial makeup of Lower Lake was 1,031 (79.7%) White, 20 (1.5%) African American, 18 (1.4%) Native American, 13 (1.0%) Asian, 1 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 125 (9.7%) from other races, and 86 (6.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 219 persons (16.9%). The Census reported that 1,291 people (99.8% of the population) lived in households, 3 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 552 households, out of which 146 (26.4%)