{"nrhp_refnum":"85002083","name":"Dawson Couty Jail","other_names":["Old Dawson County Jail"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"HW 53","address_restricted":false,"city":"Dawsonville","county":"Dawson County","state":"GA","lat":34.42142857400006,"lon":-84.12021857599996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-09-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story red brick Italianate-style county jail on Highway 53 (Jasper Street) in the commercial center of Dawsonville, Georgia, built in 1881 by M. B. McGinty of the McGinty Construction Company of Athens.","why_significant":"The jail is significant for its Italianate architecture, a modest version of an ambitious original design that reflects the county's limited resources, and for the builder's other public work. It is also significant in politics and government as the county's third jail, serving almost a century and reflecting local and state criminal justice practices such as fireproof brick, jailer's quarters and steel cells.","narrative":"Built in 1881 on a small city lot in the commercial center of Dawsonville, this two-story red brick jail served Dawson County for almost a century. It was the county's third jail, following a log jail destroyed by fire in the 1860s and a rough log-and-rock replacement built in 1871. The McGinty Construction Company of Athens built it for $3,670. Its Italianate design has a hipped roof, brick pilasters, bracketed eaves and flat-arched window heads. A planned octagonal tower and a brick cornice were dropped, a modest result for a county with limited funds. The ground floor held the jailer's quarters, with prisoners kept upstairs. Steel cells from the Manly Jail Works of Dalton replaced the original wooden ones in 1931, and additions followed in 1931, 1974 and 1979. The jail was vacated in 1977 and now houses an antiques store. It is valued for its architecture, its builder and its record of local criminal justice practice.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"M. B. McGinty, builder (McGinty Construction Company of Athens, Georgia)","architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":[],"status_note":"Vacated as a jail in 1977 after the construction of a new jail; leased for use as an antiques store. Described as in good to fair condition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:42.829012-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/85002083.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002083/a1571e82d5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002083/a1571e82d5-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Gwringle","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Dawson_County,_GA_Jail.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Gwringle</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_Dawson_County,_GA_Jail.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93205962","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawson_County_Jail","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q28153753"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/dawson-county/dawson-couty-jail-85002083/"}