{"nrhp_refnum":"71000078","name":"Old Jail","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Route 6A","address_restricted":false,"city":"Barnstable","county":"Barnstable County","state":"MA","lat":41.700105964000045,"lon":-70.29835873399998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-07-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small shingled wooden jail building in Barnstable Village, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, believed to have been built between 1690 and 1700. It began as a 17th-century timber-framed structure and later received an 18th-century addition.","why_significant":"It is described as the earliest known jail of Plymouth Colony and one of the oldest wooden structures of its kind in New England. Its heavy oak post-and-plank construction is typical of late 17th-century colonial building. Prisoners' scratched ship drawings and broad arrow marks survive on the interior walls.","narrative":"Built between about 1690 and 1700 in Barnstable Village, this wooden jail served Barnstable County and is regarded as the earliest known jail of Plymouth Colony. It is also one of the oldest wooden structures of its kind in New England. The original building was a two-story, timber-framed structure on a stone foundation, with gunstock posts, four-inch vertical planking and layers of horizontal sheathing. In the 18th century a two-story, five-bay addition made it L-shaped, and the eastern two bays of that addition were later removed. By 1702 prisoners were held there awaiting trial at the court sessions in Barnstable. Much original material survives inside, including walls scratched by prisoners with ship and schooner designs and broad arrow marks. At the time of listing the building was owned by the Town of Barnstable, unoccupied and in fair condition. It was later moved with a federal grant to Route 6A, next to the Trayser Museum, to ensure its preservation.","period_of_significance":"17th and 18th centuries; specific date between 1690 and 1700","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Seventeenth-century colonial post-and-plank construction","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as unoccupied, in fair and altered condition, with some portions deteriorated or rotted away. Later correspondence says it was moved with a federal grant to a new site on Route 6A next to the Trayser Museum.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.162336-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/69/7940/63794069/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/71000078.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000078/e87ebcd3de-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000078/e87ebcd3de-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Kenneth C. Zirkel","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Jail_Barnstable_MA_2014.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Kenneth C. Zirkel</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Jail_Barnstable_MA_2014.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"87000314","name":"Old King's Highway Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/old-kings-highway-historic-district-87000314/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794069","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Jail_(Barnstable,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7084287"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/barnstable-county/old-jail-71000078/"}