Small temporary jails of this style are also known as calabooses.
Old Jail, Ailey
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Tag Archives: Georgia Jails
Old Banks County Jail, 1906, Homer
National Register of Historic Places
Meansville Calaboose
Meansville’s old jail is located next to the fire station. These small “holding jails”, or calabooses as they are properly known, are increasingly uncommon today.
Old Jail, Circa 1900, Molena
This old wooden jail served the city of Molena before incarceration was consolidated into the county jail. It originally stood at a nearby location and was moved here for preservation.
Old Bleckley County Jail, Cochran
I haven’t been able to locate a history of this structure yet, but it was likely built around 1900-1915. Citadel-style jails like this were popular at that time. I know it was in use as the county building inspector’s office as late as 2008.
Ronald Scarborough recalled: It was also the Sheriff’s residence. Too bad the old City Jail has been torn down. It had two cells with steel doors on the front. It had old fashioned steel bars on the windows. The jail also had no furniture, no heat and no plumbing.
Old Dodge County Jail, 1897, Eastman
Designed by the great courthouse architect J. W. Golucke (Golucke & Stewart), Dodge County’s historic jail was built by the Pauly Jail Building Company, which is still in business today. It originally featured a three-story tower in the center, but that was removed during a roof renovation. It closed in 1973 upon the completion of a more modern facility.
The detailed metal window arch inserts are quite decorative for a jail. As evident in this photograph, serious structural damage is an immediate threat.
A hanging room with trap door and lever are still intact, but leaks and continued neglect will need to be addressed soon to stabilize the structure. Hopefully, Dodge County will utilize the jail in the future for a cultural resource center or something of that nature. Since its inclusion on the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2010 Places in Peril listing, little, if any, restoration has been done.
National Register of Historic Places
Old Washington County Jail, 1891, Sandersville
This Victorian jail and sheriff’s residence has been restored and is now home to the Old Jail Museum & Genealogy Research Center. It’s popular with paranormal researchers, who seek the ghost of Essie, who is said to inhabit the home portion of the structure.
Sandersville Commercial & Industrial District, National Register of Historic Places
Oglethorpe County Jail, 1878, Lexington
This jail was in use until 2002 and is now owned by Historic Oglethorpe.
Lexington Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Old Heard County Jail, 1912, Franklin
Pauly Jail Company of Alabama built this jail in 1912, for $7,500, using plans by Manley Jail Works of Dalton, Georgia. This jail replaced an 1880 jail that became unfit. The new jail housed up to 16 prisoners upstairs. The County Sheriff (eight sheriffs from 1912-1964) and his family lived downstairs. In the 1930s, two prisoners cut window bars and escaped. Death row prisoners were held here, but the jail’s gallows were never used. In 1964 a new County jail opened on the Franklin Square, and this jail closed. The 1912 jail was National Register listed in 1981. In 1987, Heard County Historical Society rehabilitated this jail, with help from the Callaway Foundation and other donors.
National Register of Historic Places
Old Jail, Circa 1900, Twin City
Thanks to Wesley Hendley for the identification. He notes that this old calaboose was later used as the city hall. The cells inside were made by the E. T. Barnum Iron Works of Detroit. The building is now a museum.
Twin City Historic District, National Register of Historic Places