{"nrhp_refnum":"73000631","name":"Meriwether County Jail","other_names":["Old Jail"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Gresham St. and GA 27 A","address_restricted":false,"city":"Greenville","county":"Meriwether County","state":"GA","lat":33.02957062400003,"lon":-84.71160079699996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-05-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A combined jail and jailer's dwelling at the corner of Gresham Street and Georgia Highway 27A in Greenville, Meriwether County, Georgia, built in 1896 and designed by R.L. Jones.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the jail as an interesting example of a simplified Italian villa style built decades after that style's main era. It has the style's pyramidal and hip roofs, projecting eaves, round-headed arches and asymmetrical towers, but omits bay windows, brackets and hood moldings. It is also the first major building on the northeast approach to Greenville, introducing the courthouse square.","narrative":"Built in 1896 at the corner of Gresham Street and Georgia Highway 27A, the Meriwether County Jail in Greenville combined cells with a jailer's home. Architect R.L. Jones designed it in a late, simplified Italian villa manner. Red brick laid in American bond, lightly trimmed with stone, forms an asymmetrical group of towers and rectangular blocks. Pyramidal and hip roofs, projecting eaves and round-arched openings recall the style, yet the building lacks bay windows, brackets and hood moldings, giving it a severe, smooth-surfaced look that the nomination calls a modern approach to an 1860s style. Marble stones at the entrance record the date and name the commissioners, architect and builders. Later changes include an altered porch, removal of a gable and balcony, and extra cells at the rear. Standing at the northeast entrance to town, it also serves as an introduction to the nearby courthouse square. A plan was proposed to convert it to a local history museum.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific date 1896)","architect_builder":"R.L. Jones, architect; Jasper Construction Co., builders","architectural_style":"Italian villa style (late 19th century, simplified)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still used as a prison; the county commissioners proposed giving it to the Meriwether Historical Society for a museum, information center and library. Condition listed as excellent but altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:40.963258-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/73000631.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000631/8bd0797f35-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000631/8bd0797f35-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Saverivers","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Meriwether_County_Jail;_Greenville,_GA.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Saverivers</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Meriwether_County_Jail;_Greenville,_GA.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"90000433","name":"Greenville Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/georgia/greenville-historic-district-90000433/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93208977","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q134391420"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/meriwether-county/meriwether-county-jail-73000631/"}