National Register of Historic Places

Old Fauquier County Jail

Warrenton, Fauquier County, Virginia
Listed
January 20, 1978
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
78003015

About this property

Built in Warrenton in 1808, the sixth jail in Fauquier County, Virginia ran for only fifteen years before a new jail was erected behind it after a lawsuit with the Commonwealth of Virginia. In those fifteen years the four-cell jail saw death and disease from neglectful conditions. Soon after the 1823 jail was constructed, the 1808 jail was transformed into a jailer's house, so that he and his family could move in and care for the prisoners. A two-story sandstone addition was added onto the original brick structure to serve as a kitchen and second floor bedroom. It was operated as a jail until 1966, when the Fauquier Historical Society saved it from demolition and created a museum. The museum was known as The Old Jail Museum before it was rebranded as the Fauquier History Museum at the Old Jail in 2014. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The first execution of criminals condemned to suffer capital punishment in Virginia since the passage of the law, by the last General Assembly, requiring the sentence to be executed in private, occurred at the jail on July 11, 1879.

Location

Warrenton, Fauquier County, Virginia
38.71372, -77.79593

Categories

POLITICS/GOVERNMENTARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Warrenton Historic District (Additional Documentation)
Listed
0.1 mi
Brentmoor
Industrial
0.3 mi
Paradise
Industrial
0.4 mi
Monterosa
Industrial
0.5 mi
Dakota
Industrial
0.8 mi

Nearby Battles

Warrenton Courthouse Skirmish (1862)
1862Civil War
0 mi
Engagement at Warrenton (Gettysburg aftermath)
1863Civil War
0.4 mi
Warrenton Junction Skirmish
1862Civil War
0.6 mi
Cavalry Fight at Warrenton Junction
1862Civil War
0.7 mi
Mosby's Raid on Warrenton Junction
1863Civil War
1.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Old Fauquier County Jail listed on the National Register?

Old Fauquier County Jail was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 20, 1978.

What type of historic resource is Old Fauquier County Jail?

Old Fauquier County Jail is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Old Fauquier County Jail?

The period of significance for Old Fauquier County Jail is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Old Fauquier County Jail?

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