MassachusettsThe Old Jail in Barnstable Village (25 Main Street / Old Jail Lane, Route 6A) is the earliest known jail of Plymouth Colony and one of the oldest wooden structures of its kind extant in New England, believed to have been built between 1690 and 1700. A shingle-covered 17th-century, two-story structure with a ridge roof, it was later joined by an 18th-century five-bay addition to form an L-shaped building, part of which was subsequently removed. Its construction is typical of the seventeenth century, with a continuous base sill on a stone foundation, gunstock posts, and heavy oak post-and-plank walls; interior walls bear ships, schooners, and broad-arrow markings scratched by prisoners. Barnstable County ordered a jail built in 1686, and by 1702 prisoners were held here while awaiting trial in Barnstable, the shire town of the colony. Significant for its architecture and government role, the building was relocated (adjacent to the Trayser Museum) to ensure its preservation.
Barnstable Old Jail
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Barnstable Old Jail is a landmark in Barnstable, Barnstable County. It is one of 6,558 landmarks documented in Barnstable County, among 6,897 historic sites cataloged across the county on MassRoam.
The site sits at 41.7001, -70.2986 near Barnstable. The nearest cataloged historic site is Blish, Abraham Memorial Marker (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include United States Customs House and Carriage House, Building at 3341 Main St, and Phinney, Sylvanus Bourne Barn.
This record is drawn from public historical records. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
Barnstable's Old Gaol is a colonial wooden jail built about 1690 by order of the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay Colony courts, and is considered the oldest wooden jail in the United States. It held roughly six prisoners and served as the Barnstable County jail until around 1820, when a new stone jail replaced it; among those said to have been imprisoned here in 1716 were survivors of the pirate Samuel Bellamy's wrecked ships. Long attached to a barn and forgotten, it was rediscovered in 1968 and moved onto the grounds of the old Customshouse, now the Coast Guard Heritage Museum. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
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