Old Jail

St Augustine Old Jail history

Old Jail is the oldest prison in the United States, located in the city of St. Augustine and listed on the Register of Historic Places of the country. Currently, the building, which is more than a hundred years old, belongs to the sights of St. Augustine, attracting the attention of tourists and visitors to the city. The building in the Romanesque architectural style is worthy of the attention of vacationers.

The Old Jail has stood for more than a hundred years, but for its intended purpose, it was used for a little more than half a century. The owner of the hotel, Henry Flagler, located opposite, persuaded the local authorities to transfer the prisoners to a new building, which he built with his own money, since the proximity to the prisoners scared off visitors.

For a more detailed acquaintance with the Old Jail, we suggest you read the article by American Butler. You will learn in detail the history of the creation and existence of the building and get acquainted with the peculiarities of the life of prisoners.

Old Jail was built in 1881. After some time, the millionaire Henry Flagler built opposite the Ponce de Leon hotel, whose guests did not like the neighborhood with the prisoners at all. Then Flagler suggested that the city authorities build a prison in a new place, having allocated the necessary amount for this.

When the prison stopped working, Flagler decided to set up a museum in it, where tourists could get acquainted with the peculiarities of life of prisoners. Excursions were organized for everyone, during which guides in prison suits told interesting facts and features of living in prison walls. The prison museum receives visitors to this day. This tour will be interesting for both children and adults.

Old Jail worked until 1953. It was the most reliable prison, from which not a single prisoner was able to escape. Mostly men were kept here. For women, only two cameras were allocated. They were considered privileged because they had windows. The head of the prison was Sheriff Joy Perry. He lived in the same building with his family. His rooms were located in the south wing. In the family kitchen, dinner was prepared for prisoners.

The prison building could accommodate up to 70 prisoners. Prison conditions were poor. Every day they were sent to agricultural work. They fed poorly. It got to the point that they caught rats and mice in the fields and ate them. Instead of a toilet, there was one bucket in the cell. The prisoners washed themselves very rarely. Therefore, in prison, illness and death were common.

Old Jail Museum

After the prison was closed, Henry Flagler decided not to redo anything in the building and set up a museum for tourists. Everyone could visit Old Jail and see what conditions the prisoners lived in.

Currently, the museum is constantly open to the public. For acquaintance with the building and its history, a guide works for tourists who will guide visitors through all the rooms and explain in detail the purpose of each item.

The tour is conducted by a guide dressed in a striped prisoner costume. Tourists are invited to inspect the prison building, the rooms where the sheriff and his family lived, cameras for men and women, a security system, a collection of weapons and a gallows in the courtyard. The whole walk through the prison is accompanied by a story about the history of the building and the peculiarities of punishment and justice of that time. The tour will be interesting for both adults and children.

Places nearby Old Jail

Having got acquainted with the museum-prison, for sure tourists and visitors come to see other attractions of the area. Within walking distance of the Old St. Augustine Prison, you can see the following places worthy of attention.

• First United States Hotel — Ponce de Leon Hotel;
• Museum of Antiquities — Lightner Museum;
• Museum for horror movie fans — Wolf's Museum Of Mystery;
• Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine.