RATHDRUM - When visitors approach Rathdrum's Old Kootenai County Jail and look up to the second floor, they'll probably notice the two small windows with bars.

"That's our insane room," said Denise Murray, of Rathdrum. "That's for the people who were picked up and were kind of on the crazy side ... it has bars on that one particular room so that they could not get out. We have a mannequin up there with a straitjacket on. Oh, the kids love it."

Murray is one of about a dozen volunteers who work in the Old Kootenai County Jail, which was restored in 2010 and opened to the public for tours last summer. It was built from 1881 to 1891 and served as the county jail and sheriff's office until 1908, in the days when Rathdrum (then Westwood) was the seat of Kootenai County. The building has since been a library and maintenance storage for the City of Rathdrum.

New life has been breathed into the old jail. It has been painted and polished to serve as a museum and archives. Displays include pieces of North Idaho's past, including books, photographs, tools, clothing, a Rathdrum Tribune printing press and a replica of one of the cells with an original door. Most of the wooden fixtures and moldings are original, and the wooden floors are the very same ones that would have creaked beneath the spur-laden boots of Wild West lawmen.

"We've lived here for a while and we've never seen it. We like to more know about historical landmarks and how the city was built and how the railroads affected it," said Hollie Collins, of Coeur d'Alene. Collins, her husband and two children took a tour Saturday, guided by volunteer Deb Vigil.

"I really liked hearing about how this (Rathdrum) was the main hub, versus Coeur d'Alene and Spokane. That was super interesting because it's so tiny compared to everything else now," Collins said. "To think that if the train had stayed here, that it would be big as Spokane, perhaps, that's mind blowing."

Murray said local elementary school students have also been through to tour the jail and museum.

"Some of them want to get in the jail cell, some of them don't want to get into the jail cell," she said. "They're scared to death because of the loud clanging and the sound of it being final. I mean getting in there, you might not get out, that kind of thing. It's just really, really interesting."

The Idaho Historic Preservation Council presented the Rathrdrum/Westwood Historical Society with the Orchid Award in 2011, a nod to a job well done for the preservation, restoration and renovation of a historic building. The Old Kootenai County Jail was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

"This is a really old building. It's one of the original buildings. The only way you're going to get much older is Cataldo (the Old Mission)," Vigil said.

She is a third-generation North Idahoan with a love of history. Vigil said she's amazed by "the scale of things," in how much space people have now compared to the past, and how many belongings people own compared to the few humble items of families a century ago.

She also told some interesting jail tales.

"The miners would come here, get drunk, party, and the next thing you know, they're all in the jail cells. And it could get pretty hot," Vigil said.

The area where inmates were kept had eight small cells, four stacked on four. Up to 36 inmates were crammed into these cells. Some were held on minor offenses while more serious offenders waited to be transported to the state penitentiary in Boise. Sheets of metal were attached to the inner walls to prevent inmates from escaping.

"When you think about it, they talk about jail overcrowding now, they have no idea what jail overcrowding was," she said. "They'd have four people and a bucket in there."

Currently, the Rathdrum/Westwood Historical Society is working on "Building on the Past," a fundraiser to complete a tile mural. It is a large black-and-white photograph of the south side of Rathdrum on Main Street, taken in the early 1900s. It includes the Westwood Saloon, a log wagon and a horse and buggy, an image that provides a peek into the past.

The tiles are $500 each. Money from the tiles will help with archival and restoration work. The completed mural will be permanently displayed in Stein's IGA/Family Foods of Rathdrum.

"It's slow going, it's a slow process, but I'm going to try to hit on it really, really hard," Murray said. The campaign ends in December.

The museum is open noon to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday during the summer, with guided tours by trained volunteers. Recommended admission is $2 or $1 for children, but any donation is appreciated.

"We're not going to turn anybody away," Murray said.

"We're spreading Idaho history, and especially Rathdrum history," she continued. "This is the only museum in Rathdrum, so we're very proud of it and we really want people to come visit the museum and take in the history that we've reconstructed with the reconstruction of the jail."

The Old Kootenai County Jail is located at 802 W. 2nd St. in Rathdrum. Info: www.rathdrumchamberofcommerce.com