The Old Jail

Completed in 1802, Charleston's Old County Jail is a combination of three buildings: the main cell block, a large, rectangular building; the jailer's quarters, located at the front of the jail on Magazine Street: and the octagon. in the back. South Carolina was the last colony to have a prison. Before the jail was built, prisoners were held in private homes, creating many problem not the least of which was the escape of convicts. The first prisoners were housed here in 1803.

The main cell block was built between 1797 and 1802. At the time, there was no water suitable for drinking available at the jail. Prisoners were kept in cell blocks 24 hours a day, with no exercise or bathroom facilities until 1805 when a 12-foot wall was constructed, the footprint of which is still visible. Inside, the outlines of individual cells are still visible in the cell blocks. These are etched into the concrete floor and show the cells to have been about 6 x 8 feet.

In the 1820s, a wing was added to the rear of the jail. Designed by one of America's first professional architects. Charleston native Robert Mills, it was a four-story, fireproof annex that measured 18 x 51 feet. The annex was razed when the jailer's quarters and the octagon were built in the 1850s.

Jailers and their families lived in the iailer's quarters until the jail was closed in 1939. The jailer could watch all three buildings from his residence. With curtains up on the street side, and the skylight reflecting light onto the windows, prisoners and guards would not have been able to tell whether the jailer was watching.

The octagon was used for pre-trial holding cells. In the 19h century, witnesses and plaintiffs also had to stay in the jail until trial. Trials were held every six months. The octagon originally had four stories, with a central, six-story light tower. The tower and its fourth floor were removed after the earthquake of 1886.

The Old Jail is now owned by the American College of the Building Arts, an institution dedicated to training master craftsmen and women in traditional building methods. Upon acquisition of the iail in 2000. after it had sat vacant for 61 years, an emergency stabilization program commenced to meet the immediate needs of this historic property. The Old Jail is now used as the location for the college's continuing education and youth programs. ACBA allows tours on a limited basis