Charlotte County Gaol

Identity area

Type of entity

Corporate body

Authorized form of name

Charlotte County Gaol

Parallel form(s) of name

  • Charlotte County Jail

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Description area

Dates of existence

1786-1979

History

The first gaol for all of Charlotte County was built on Water Street in 1786 near the current town hall. It was a two storey wooden building with the courthouse on the upper floor and the prison of four cells on the ground floor. The floor was a dirt floor, and the prisoners would dig their way to freedom and escape across the river. The first escape occurred in 1787. At the time, the Sheriff was responsible for the value of whatever the escapees had stolen. In 1828 the Sherriff was sued for allowing so many escapes to occur, and because the escapes continued to occur, it was decided in 1816 to rebuild the gaol. In 1826 an act was passed authorizing the magistrates of the County to sell the gaol and erect a more suitable building for the prisoners as the old one was poorly kept and the County felt it wass too unclean for prisoners. The original building (the gaol and courthouse) was sold to the town of St Andrews in 1831 for one hundred pounds. It was converted into a town hall upstairs and a market downstairs until it burned in 1872. The 1830s were a very prosperous time for St Andrews because of the shipping industry so the County decided to build a new gaol. This time it was to be on a hill where it could stand out as a symbol of its importance. The courthouse was built a few years later. Not long after the courthouse was finished, the period of prosperity ended. The cornerstone of the new gaol was laid in 1831 (engraved in the granite stone outside above the gaol door). The first inmates arrived in 1834. The gaol continued to be used as a jail until 1979. In 1982 it became the residence of the Charlotte County Archives.

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  • Clipboard

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  • EAC

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