The Wiscasset Jail and Museum is a historic jail on at 133 Federal Street (
Maine State Route 218) in
Wiscasset, Maine
Wiscasset is a town in and the seat of Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The municipality is located in the state of Maine's Mid Coast region. The population was 3,742 as of the 2020 census. Home to the Chewonki Foundation, Wiscasset is ...
. Built in 1811, it is one Maine's oldest surviving jail buildings, serving as the state's first penitentiary between 1820 and 1824. It is now a museum operated by the Lincoln County Historical Society as the 1811 Lincoln County Museum and Old Jail. It 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 1970.
Description and history
The former Wiscasset Jail is located north of Wiscasset's village center, on the east side of Federal Street, overlooking the
Sheepscot River
The Sheepscot River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 22, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Maine. Its lower portion is a complex island estuary with connections to ...
. The building has two distinct sections, one for the jail and the other for the keeper's residence. The portion housing the cells is built out of granite and is three stories in height. The interior consists of a central hall on each floor providing access to cells lining the long walls; the interior walls and floors are also granite. Eleven of the twelve cells have heavily barred window openings; the twelfth, which was used for
solitary confinement, has no window. The third floor housed "apartments" used as
debtor's cells and a work room. The keeper's quarters, attached to one of the gabled short walls, are a two-story brick structure, with a five bay facade and central entrance typical of Federal period architecture.
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Lincoln County was established in 1760, and had two different jails for the short-term retention of prisoners. The present building was authorized by the county in 1807, and construction lasted from 1809 to 1811. The original keeper's house was destroyed by fire, and the present brick house was built in 1837. It was until 1824 the only substantial place of incarceration in what was first the
District of Maine
The District of Maine was the governmental designation for what is now the U.S. state of Maine from October 25, 1780 to March 15, 1820, when it was admitted to the Union as the 23rd state. The district was a part of the Commonwealth of Massachu ...
of
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, and after 1820 the state of
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...
. It remained in active use until 1953, and was sold to the Lincoln County Historical Society the following year. It has served as the society's headquarters and as a museum property since then.
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See also
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References
External links
Lincoln County Historical Association
- Official Website
Lincoln County Historical Association
- Facebook page
{{National Register of Historic Places
Jails on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine
Government buildings completed in 1809
Defunct prisons in Maine
Museums in Lincoln County, Maine
Prison museums in the United States
History museums in Maine
Buildings and structures in Wiscasset, Maine
National Register of Historic Places in Lincoln County, Maine
Historic district contributing properties in Maine
Jails in Maine