In 2016, my obsession with the forgotten and abandoned inspired me to create this blog. Hello, my name is Leland Kent and I have been interested in abandoned places since I was a kid. For more amazing, abandoned places in North Florida, check out my photography books. If you would like to receive the Abandoned Southeast blog in your email, you can sign up at the bottom of the main page. You can find me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Today, the old county jail remains closed to the public and under renovation with hopes of reopening for tours in the future. Some of these encounters have been documented in newspapers, such as shadow figures, voices, and footsteps. Paranormal investigators have been combing over the building for years looking for evidence of paranormal activity, capturing things like cell doors slamming, lights flickering, and even full-bodied apparitions. Staff all agree that the old jail is haunted because of the hangings that took place there, as well as the reported violence that occurred within the jail cells. The jail, per many witnesses and paranormal investigators, is haunted by the ghosts of its former residents. This property is so well known for its haunts, that the NRHP’s nomination form mentions that the building has a haunted reputation within the local folklore. For the last several decades, it has served as home to the Hamilton County Historical Society. When the jail closed in 1984, it was the oldest operating jail in Florida. The Old Hamilton County Jail was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. She was never convicted but was asked to leave the county. Due to extremely cold weather, the sheriff allowed her to leave the jail. It was alleged that the woman poisoned her husband. A female prisoner and her baby were housed for several months in the 1920s. Among the collected stories of past inmates are the reported suicide of a female prisoner and the deaths of several male prisoners. Executions were not the only deaths that occurred on the grounds. Historians note that in the early 20th century, three people were executed here by hanging, one Caucasian man and two African Americans. These hanging became a public spectacle, bringing throngs of local folks to watch the primitive executions. This brick and steel structure was the last prison east of the Mississippi for the last three legal hangings (as verified by actual photographs in its museum). Sampson Tavell (1837-1899) Sheriff of Hamilton County from 1882-1889. The meals for the sheriff’s family as well as the prisoners were both prepared on the same stove which remains in the jail today. A kitchen was added to the jail as part of a renovation in the 1930s. To prevent fire hazards, the jail originally had a freestanding kitchen behind the building. Both of the sheriff’s children were born inside the building. The county jail was also home to the local sheriff and his family whose job it was to care for the inmates. The building is mainly made of brick, steel, and concrete, which makes it virtually fireproof. Louis built the old Hamilton County Jail in Jasper, Florida.
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