{"nrhp_refnum":"82002384","name":"Berrien County Jail","other_names":["Berrien Historical Building and Agricultural Museum"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"N. Jefferson St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Nashville","county":"Berrien County","state":"GA","lat":31.207936671000027,"lon":-83.24891406199998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-08-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Law","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick county jail on North Jefferson Street in Nashville, Berrien County, Georgia, built in 1903 by J.J. Carr & Co. of Atlanta to a Pauly Jail Building & Manufacturing Co. design from St. Louis.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the jail is architecturally significant as one of Nashville's most impressive buildings, with a corner tower echoing the 1898 courthouse and \"fireproof\" construction typical of South Georgia jails. It also represents the county's criminal justice system as its only jail from 1903 to 1955, and the strength of county government when Berrien County was at its largest.","narrative":"Built in 1903 one block north of the Berrien County Courthouse, this two-story jail replaced an older hand-hewn timber jail. The Pauly Jail Company of St. Louis supplied the design, and J.J. Carr & Co. of Atlanta built it with handmade load-bearing brick laid in common bond. A square southwest tower with a metal pyramidal roof echoes the towers of the 1898 courthouse. Inside, arched corrugated iron ceilings and patented Pauly cell grating survive, along with a second-floor hanging chamber sealed in 1920. The jail served as the county's only lockup from 1903 until 1955, holding prisoners from a county that then included present-day Lanier and Cook counties and parts of Tift. Prisoners were also leased to private enterprises such as turpentine operations. A sheriff's quarters annex added around 1930 was removed in 1965. Berrien Future Farmers of America members rehabilitated the building in 1976. It was listed for its architecture and its role in local law and government.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Pauly Jail Bldg & Mfg. Co. of St. Louis, MO; J.J. Carr & Co., contractors, Atlanta, GA","architectural_style":"Early 20th Century Romanesque","criteria":[],"status_note":"Vacant for the last few years and vandalized, but in good structural condition; rehabilitated by local Future Farmers of America members in 1976 and used for occasional events since.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:40.547662-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/82002384.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002384/c56a6d9a67-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002384/c56a6d9a67-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Jud McCranie","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Berrien_County_Jail,_Nashville,_GA,_US.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jud McCranie</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:Berrien_County_Jail,_Nashville,_GA,_US.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93205856","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Berrien_County_Jail","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16896096"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/berrien-county/berrien-county-jail-82002384/"}