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
State Street (Salt Lake County) side. State Street north of Vine Street in Murray was used as part of the route for wagons carrying quartz monzonite quarried at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon for use in building the Salt Lake Temple, until railroads provided an easier route. Streetcars also extended south along the street as far as Murray in the early 20th century. When the U.S. Highway system was unveiled in 1926, state street carried US-91 through the Salt Lake Valley. In the 1930s, US-89 was extended, using State Street. US 91 was truncated in 1974, however, State Street remains signed as US 89