The Norfolk County Jail was a

jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

located on Village Avenue in

Dedham, Massachusetts Dedham ( ) is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 25,364 at the 2020 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest b ...

. It replaced the first Norfolk County Jail on nearby Highland Street.

Notable inmates

Notable inmates included

Jason Fairbanks Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He was ...

and

Sacco and Vanzetti Nicola Sacco (; April 22, 1891 – August 23, 1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (; June 11, 1888 – August 23, 1927) were Italian immigrant anarchists who were controversially accused of murdering Alessandro Berardelli and Frederick Parmenter, a ...

. Sacco's seven-year-old son, Dante, would sometimes stand on the sidewalk outside the jail and play catch with his father by throwing a ball over the wall.

Building

The two story stone building was built in 1817 and was 33' square. Part of the jail was torn down in 1851 to erect a central, octagonal portion and two wings. It resulted in a building with the shape of a

Latin cross A Latin cross or ''crux immissa'' is a type of cross in which the vertical beam sticks above the crossbeam, with the three upper arms either equally long or with the vertical topmost arm shorter than the two horizontal arms, and always with a mu ...

, and featured

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

windows. The three tiers of cells radiated out like spokes from the central guardroom. After it was built, the tools used were auctioned off at Marsh's Tavern. Inmates were housed in the jail until 1992 when the

Norfolk County Correctional Center The Norfolk County Correctional Center is a house of correction located on the median of Route 128 in Dedham, Massachusetts. The facility has 502 beds and opened in 1992. On average, there are 140 inmates who are serving sentences and 260 inmates w ...

was opened in 1992. A court forced the closure after 13 inmates escaped in 1989. There were at least 27 break outs during the prison's history.

Hangings

There were two hangings in the central rotunda. First was George C. Hersey on August 8, 1862. Over 300 people received tickets to watch. James H. Costley was hung on June 25, 1875. Again, 300 people watched as his body twitched and convulsed for close to two minutes. One spectator fainted, and others obtained pieces of the hangmans rope to bring home as souvenirs. It was the last execution in Norfolk County.

Condominiums

In 1999, the jail was converted by the Brookline-based Parencorps into a condominium complex known as Stoneleigh. The sale price was more than $1 million. The 24 luxury condominiums were offered for between $450,000 and $650,000, each with between .

References

Works cited

* * * {{Dedham 1817 establishments in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Dedham, Massachusetts History of Dedham, Massachusetts Defunct prisons in Massachusetts 1992 disestablishments in Massachusetts