{"nrhp_refnum":"74000706","name":"Old Jail","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"103 Court St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Washington","county":"Wilkes County","state":"GA","lat":33.73900892200004,"lon":-82.74098284599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-06-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The Old Wilkes County Jail, a two-story red brick Romanesque-style building with a basement at 103 Court Street in Washington, Wilkes County, Georgia, built in 1891 by the McDonald Brothers Jail Building Company of Louisville, Kentucky.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the jail is one of the most unusually designed structures of its kind in Georgia, with a stylish late nineteenth-century Romanesque exterior. Its limestone duct heating system was innovative and experimental, possibly a forerunner of forced-air heating, though it did not work as expected. The building also reflects the work of a regionally known jail-building firm.","narrative":"Built in 1891 at 103 Court Street in Washington, Georgia, the Old Wilkes County Jail is a red brick, two-story building with a basement, a hipped roof and bands of rough stone. Its Romanesque design includes square brick pillars, dentil cornices, small round-headed arches in the gables and a covered outside stairway. The McDonald Brothers Jail Building Company of Louisville, Kentucky, won the contract in January 1891 for $8,250, after local grand juries had called for a better jail since the 1870s. Inside, eight cell blocks were floored with Indiana limestone, and a system of moat-like ducts was meant to carry heat through the limestone into the cells. The system did not work as expected, and a new heating contract was sought by 1895. The jail was abandoned for a newer one around 1910-1911, then served as a house and as a cafe with an apartment. A new owner planned a restoration as a townhouse.","period_of_significance":"1891","architect_builder":"McDonald Brothers Jail Building Company of Louisville, Kentucky","architectural_style":"Romanesque","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as vacant and in fair condition, awaiting restoration for adaptive use as a townhouse; earlier used as a house and as an apartment and restaurant.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:40.868691-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/74000706.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000706/e1c8bc8bd7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000706/e1c8bc8bd7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Blastoids","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Jail_-_Washington.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Blastoids</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:Old_Jail_-_Washington.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"04001319","name":"Washington Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/georgia/washington-historic-district-04001319/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93209967","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Jail_(Washington,_Georgia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16896138"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/wilkes-county/old-jail-74000706/"}