{"nrhp_refnum":"78003015","name":"Old Fauquier County Jail","other_names":["Fauquier County Jail"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Fauquier County Courthouse Sq.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Warrenton","county":"Fauquier County","state":"VA","lat":38.71371751300006,"lon":-77.79593458999994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-01-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A county jail complex at the northwest corner of Courthouse Square in Warrenton, Fauquier County, Virginia, made up of an 1808 brick jail (converted to a jailer's residence in 1822) and a connecting 1822 fieldstone jail with a walled jailyard.","why_significant":"The nomination holds that it is one of the state's most complete and interesting examples of early penal architecture. Enough early fabric survives, including plank-lined cells, barred windows and iron grills, to show how early nineteenth-century jails were built and equipped. It also records the local effort to save the building from demolition after a new jail opened in 1964.","narrative":"Beside the courthouse in Warrenton, two parallel buildings joined by a high stone wall make up the old county jail. The north building, of brick, was completed in 1808 as the jail and turned into the jailer's residence in 1822. A kitchen addition went on its east end in 1824. The south building, built of coursed fieldstone in 1822, held the prisoners. Its cell rooms were once lined with double thickness plank, and a walled jailyard lies behind it. Iron grills still secure the windows, and sockets for window bars remain in the brick building's second-floor jambs. The complex served the county for nearly 150 years. After a new jail opened in 1964, demolition was threatened, and local citizens formed the Fauquier Historical Society to save it as a museum of county history. The county gave the society responsibility for the buildings in 1975. The site is considered a notably complete example of early nineteenth-century jail construction in Virginia.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Plans and specifications by William Pattie, Sr. and Benj. V. Larkin; John Kemper contracted for the 1822 work and the 1824 addition","architectural_style":"Greek Revival mantel noted in the interior; no overall style stated","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in generally good condition; operated as a museum by the Fauquier Historical Society, which was granted responsibility for it in 1975.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.389285-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/67/6806/41680667/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/78003015.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"83004243","name":"Warrenton Historic District (Additional Documentation)","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/warrenton-historic-district-additional-documentation-83004243/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680667","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Fauquier_County_Jail","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14713014"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/fauquier-county/old-fauquier-county-jail-78003015/"}