{"nrhp_refnum":"71000628","name":"Old Wilkes County Jail","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"N. Bridge St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wilkesboro","county":"Wilkes County","state":"NC","lat":36.149016248000066,"lon":-81.15230740099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-02-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick county jail with attached jailer's quarters on North Bridge Street in Wilkesboro, Wilkes County, North Carolina, authorized in 1856 and completed by February 1859.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it one of the best preserved examples of nineteenth century penal architecture in North Carolina, noting the survival of its primitive security and sanitary devices. It also served as a Confederate storehouse and prisoner facility during the Civil War and held Tom Dula, of the ballad \"Tom Dooley,\" after the war.","narrative":"Built on a hillside in Wilkesboro, the old Wilkes County jail is a rectangular two-story brick building with a low hipped roof and interior end chimneys. Construction was authorized in February 1856, on the former north public spring lot, and the building was finished by February 1859. One side held the cells, while the other held the jailer's residence. Inside, a center passage divides a large cell, once split into two with corner fireplaces, from the jailer's rooms. Much original hardware survives, including strap hinges, early locks, an unusual semicircular iron cell door and primitive wooden toilet boxes. During the Civil War the jail stored Confederate provisions as well as prisoners. Afterward, Tom Dula, subject of the ballad \"Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley,\" was held here until his defense attorney, former Governor Zebulon Vance, won a change of venue. It is regarded as one of North Carolina's best preserved nineteenth century jails.","period_of_significance":"19th Century","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as fair condition, altered, on its original site, and marked as not in use; owned by the Town of Wilkesboro.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:56.662403-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/47/7228/47722847/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/71000628.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000628/c33a18ddc7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000628/c33a18ddc7-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Jan Kronsell at Danish Wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WilkesboroOldJail.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Jan Kronsell at Danish Wikipedia</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WilkesboroOldJail.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"09000290","name":"Downtown Wilkesboro Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/north-carolina/downtown-wilkesboro-historic-district-09000290/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47722847","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Wilkes_County_Jail","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q20858179"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/wilkes-county/old-wilkes-county-jail-71000628/"}