{"nrhp_refnum":"81000404","name":"Fulton County Jail","other_names":["Tryon County Jail"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Perry and Montgomery Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Johnstown","county":"Fulton County","state":"NY","lat":43.00302968800003,"lon":-74.37067602999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1981-10-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, L-shaped county jail complex at Perry and Montgomery Streets in Johnstown, Fulton County, New York, with an original stone block built in 1772 and later brick wings.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the jail is a rare surviving eighteenth-century jail in New York State, built in 1772 under Sir William Johnson. It was fortified as Fort Johnstown during the American Revolution and is tied to over two hundred years of Johnstown's role as county seat.","narrative":"Built of limestone in 1772, this two-story jail in Johnstown began as part of the new Tryon County seat, with construction overseen by Boston master builder Zephaniah Batcheller for Sir William Johnson. During the American Revolution, local patriots fortified it with a palisade and blockhouses, and it was known as Fort Johnstown. A fire in 1849 left only the walls standing, and the interior and roof were rebuilt. Over time the complex grew into an L shape. A brick undersheriff's wing was added about 1890, and a larger Colonial Revival sheriff's residence was attached to the east. Troy architect Frederick Cummings designed an 1896 addition, and the present cell-block system dates from 1913. The state declared the jail unfit in 1979 because of antiquated locking systems and inadequate facilities. The property is valued as a rare surviving eighteenth-century jail in New York and for its long link to county government.","period_of_significance":"1700-1799, 1800-1899 (specific dates: 1772, with additions)","architect_builder":"Zephaniah Batcheller (builder); Frederick Cummings designed the 1896 addition","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival features on the sheriff's quarters; the original stone jail is described as a simple, fortress-like structure","criteria":[],"status_note":"Declared unfit for use as a jail by the state in 1979; prisoners have not been held there since 1979, and the sheriff's department kept offices there until 1981.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:42.562045-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/81000404.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000404/f43093f4f8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000404/f43093f4f8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Doug Kerr from Upstate New York","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fulton_County_Jail_Johnstown_NY_Feb_08.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Doug Kerr from Upstate New York</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fulton_County_Jail_Johnstown_NY_Feb_08.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317856","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulton_County_Jail_(Johnstown,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5508419"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/fulton-county/fulton-county-jail-81000404/"}