{"nrhp_refnum":"72001412","name":"Debtor's Prison","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"On U.S. 15","address_restricted":false,"city":"Worsham","county":"Prince Edward County","state":"VA","lat":37.229007172000024,"lon":-78.44287564299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-09-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small hewn-log jail beside Route 15 in the village of Worsham, Prince Edward County, Virginia, built in 1787 as the county's debtors' prison.","why_significant":"It is the oldest public building in Prince Edward County, which had its county seat at Worsham from 1754 until 1872. It is also a documented eighteenth-century log public building, a rare survival in Virginia. Its finely fitted squared logs form the floor and ceiling as well as the walls.","narrative":"A single-room log jail beside Route 15 in Worsham served as the debtors' prison for Prince Edward County. Authorized in 1786 and accepted the following year, it was built by Richard Bibb for fifty-two pounds. The building measures 14 by 18 feet, with closely fitted square hewn logs joined by half dovetailed corners. The floor and ceiling are also made of heavy squared logs, and the ceiling logs project to form a slight roof overhang. Worsham was the county seat from 1754 until 1872, and this is the oldest public building in the county. Imprisonment for debt ended in the nineteenth century, and the jail was converted to a residence, apparently as early as 1820. The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities bought it in 1950 and restored it in 1951, removing later additions. Its documented origins and well-made log construction make it a rare surviving eighteenth-century log public building in Virginia.","period_of_significance":"18th Century","architect_builder":"Richard Bibb (paid fifty-two pounds for its construction)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as good condition, unaltered, on its original site; used as a museum. Restored in 1951, with further restoration and repair scheduled.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.823425-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/70/6826/41682670/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/72001412.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001412/a5b69f3463-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001412/a5b69f3463-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Ser Amantio di Nicolao","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Worsham_debtors_prison,_exterior_oblique.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Ser Amantio di Nicolao</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:Worsham_debtors_prison,_exterior_oblique.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682670","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debtors%27_Prison_(Worsham,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5248625"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/prince-edward-county/debtors-prison-72001412/"}