Barnstable's Old Gaol is a historic

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

jail in

Barnstable, Massachusetts The Town of Barnstable ( ) is a town in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the county seat of Barnstable County. Barnstable is the largest community, both in land area and population, on Cape Cod, and is one of thirteen Massachusetts municipalit ...

. Built 1690, it is the oldest wooden jail in the United States of America. The jail was built by order of the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay Colony courts. It served as the

Barnstable County Barnstable County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 census, the population was 228,996. Its shire town is Barnstable. The county consists of Cape Cod and associated islands (some adjacent islands are in Duk ...

jail until 1820, when a new stone jail was built. The structure, which held about six prisoners, was eventually attached to a barn. In 1968 it was rediscovered, separated from the barn, and moved 100 feet onto the grounds of the

Coast Guard Heritage Museum The U.S. Customshouse (now known as the Coast Guard Heritage Museum and the Donald G. Trayser Memorial Museum) is a historic customs house and United States Coast Guard museum on Cobbs Hill in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Built in 1855 to a design ...

(located in the old Customshouse building) in Barnstable Village. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1971, and included in the Old King's Highway Historic District in 1987. In 1716, the jail imprisoned Goody Hallett, the lover of pirate

Samuel Bellamy Captain Samuel Bellamy ( c. 23 February, 1689 – 26 April 1717), later known as "Black Sam" Bellamy, was an English sailor, turned pirate, who operated in the early 18th century. He is best known as the wealthiest pirate in recorded history, an ...

, later known as the Witch of Wellfleet, as well as the two survivors of Sam Bellamy's flagship ''

Whydah Gally ''Whydah Gally'' (commonly known simply as the ''Whydah'') was a fully rigged galley ship that was originally built as a passenger, cargo, and slave ship. On the return leg of her maiden voyage of the triangle trade, ''Whydah Gally'' was capt ...

'' which wrecked at Wellfleet, and the seven survivors of his consort ship ''Mary Anne'' which wrecked ten miles south at Pochet Island. The jail house is considered one of the most haunted in America and is open to ghost tours at certain times of the year. It is believed to be haunted by Goody Hallett, who is said to also haunt th
Expedition Whydah
in Provincetown, as well as Lucifer Land (also called Goody Hallett's Meadow) which is a reference to the area of land at the top of the Wellfleet cliffs.

References

External links

Official web site of caretakers

Coast Guard Heritage Museum
Government buildings completed in 1690 Defunct prisons in Massachusetts Jails on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Barnstable, Massachusetts Museums in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Prison museums in the United States Jails in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Barnstable, Massachusetts Historic district contributing properties in Massachusetts 1690 establishments in Massachusetts {{Massachusetts-museum-stub

See also

References

External links