The Debtors' Prison in
Tappahannock, Virginia, is a historic
debtors' prison dating back to the 18th century. Constructed sometime before 1769, it is one of three such structures remaining in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, along with those in
Accomac and
Worsham.
[.] In the early 19th century, the practice of imprisoning debtors was abolished, marking a significant shift in societal attitudes towards debt and punishment. By 1820, the former prison had undergone a transformation, being repurposed into a residential space.
The prison building is a contributing structure to the
Tappahannock Historic District, and as such was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1973.
History
The exact date of construction for the old debtors' prison is not known, but a court order from 1769 shows it as being surrounded by "prison bounds", indicating that the structure had most likely already been built and was in use by that date. Its existence is noted in another court order, dating to 1809, that separated criminal and debtor prison populations into different facilities.
A town plat drawn up in 1850 shows it at its present location, on the
courthouse green, along with four other
jail
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cr ...
s.
Little else is known about its history, save that it was most likely converted to other uses when the state of Virginia abandoned the use of imprisonment as a punishment for debt in 1849. Unlike similar buildings elsewhere in Virginia, the jail is still owned by the
county government, which currently uses it as the county treasurer's office.
Design
The prison building is simple in design, being made of
Flemish bond
Flemish bond is a pattern of brickwork that is a common feature in Georgian architecture. The pattern features bricks laid lengthwise (''stretchers'') alternating with bricks laid with their shorter ends exposed (''headers'') within the same cou ...
brick and having three
bays in front. The entry door is at the center of the front face of the structure, and has a well-worn
sandstone
Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
sill at its foot. There is a more modern addition on the rear of the building.
The prison's floor plan is almost square, and it is one-and-one-half stories tall.
[
]
Significance
The Debtors' Prison is part of a compact block of historic structures, located in central Tappahannock and bounded by Church Lane, Queen's Street, Cross Street, and Prince Street, which together trace the town's political and maritime history. With the Old Clerk's Office, the Old Essex County Courthouse, and the New Essex County Courthouse, it forms the town's "most convincing case for architectural history".
References
{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
National Register of Historic Places in Essex County, Virginia
Defunct prisons in Virginia
Debtors' prisons
Essex County, Virginia
Government buildings completed in the 18th century
Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
Prisons on the National Register of Historic Places
Historic district contributing properties in Virginia
Financial history of the United States