Old Pickens Jail
The 100+ years old jail was used for a remarkable 76 years. It didn't house many
dangerous criminals but cellblocks were crowded when court was in session.
dangerous criminals but cellblocks were crowded when court was in session.
The Old Pickens County Jail (1906-1982) at 141 North Main in Jasper is Pickens County's third jail. In 1906 the jail was considered escape proof with metal ceilings with concrete poured on top. Pauley Jail Building Co. of St. Louis furnished and installed the steel jail equipment. Local artisans completed the marble and brick exterior at a cost of $28,631. The marble came from the Southern Mill in Marble Hill, GA.
The Marble Valley Historical Society took possession of the building in 1982, and spent approximately $150,000 renovating the two-story building. The sheriff's family lived on the first floor with cellblocks for men and women on the second floor. Today, the jail is on the National Register of Historic Places and is open for tours on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays (2pm-4pm) through September. The jail is also open on major holidays and both days of the Georgia Marble Festival the first weekend in October. The first floor room on the right was the children's bedroom. It now houses displays of early Pickens County, the marble industry, and maps. The first floor room on the left was the sheriff's "family room". It contains a tribute to the Cherokee, Mississippian, and Woodland Native Americans of North Georgia. The first floor back room on the left was originally a bedroom. It later became the sheriff's office and booking room. In the first floor room to the right, the sheriff's wife prepared meals in the kitchen for the family as well as the prisoners. In the 19th and early 20th centuries the sheriff's wife maintained a garden behind the jail. Upstairs are two cellblocks—one for males and one for females. A portion of the second floor is dedicated to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms agents. Pickens County sheriffs and deputies helped ATF agents find and destroy illegal moonshine stills in the area. Also on the second floor is a working gallows that was installed when the jail was built in 1906. It's never been used. The building is owned by Pickens County and maintained by the Marble Valley Historical Society. |
Marble Valley Historical Society, P.O. Box 815, Jasper, GA 30143, (770)-597-6052