Historic group acquires Midas jail

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Monday, June 26, 2000 | 2:31 a.m.

The one-room, 92-year-old building was donated to the group by Walter Bud Aldrich of Reno, who has owned the property since the mid 1960s, the group announced.

The jail itself was authorized in 1908 by the Elko County Commission, who appointed a deputy sheriff for the town. One of the deputy's duties was to build a jail.

According to the preservation group, "Hungry Joe" Horvath was the last inmate at the jail in 1937. He was jailed briefly for shooting a woman in the leg, but the victim later refused to press charges.

The latest donation now gives Friends of Midas ownership to the only two original public structures still standing in the old mining town.

In 1998, Midas Joint Venture, the VanderWende family and the Unger family donated the Midas School to the group for preservation.