Off
The Beaten Path The
online source of what to see in Fredericksburg
Every few months, SimplyFredericksburg
will take you on a journey to places that most
people visiting (and many residing in) Fredericksburg don't get to see.
These are places that are "Off The Beaten Path". There are many great sites
to see in the area that are just not highly advertised or publicized. So
sit back and take a short trip "Off the beaten path".
We will, (in most cases), provide you with
photos and a brief description of each location. As always, we encourage
you and others to see these sites in person. We do not try to replace an
actual visit.
Old
Jail House Spotsylvania, County
Volume #11
Driving
through the Court House District of Spotsylvania, you may notice a small
white brick building located near the Court House and current jail. This
white small brick building is the old jail which was originally built in
1781 and moved brick by brick to its present location. That original jail
was destroyed by fire around 1853. The current 6 room building (open on
selected dates throughout the year) was built in 1855-6 and was used as
the Counties jail until 1949, when it was condemned. The county still used
the building for office space and government storage (mainly used for storing
sports equipment for the county Parks and Recreations department), until
last year when it was slated for restoration. The old jail is in it's early
stages of restoration (research stages) and is scheduled to be finished
in the next couple of years.
The walls of the old jail are three feet thick and steel
door bars covered the entrance and exit to the building. SimplyFredericksburg
visited the jail in July of 2000 and received an excellent tour. The tour
is free but call first for times. Normally, SimplyFredericksburg gives an
inside story about each "Off the Beaten Path" site, but this time, we feel
that you should visit the old jail, take the tour and see what it was like
to live in a jail cell back in the mid to late 1800's and early 1900's.
We will see you in the next issue available in September.
Spotsylvania Historical Association, Inc. P.O. Box 64
Spotsylvania, Virginia
540-582-7167
We are currently looking for an area guide to keep this section up-to-date and accurate. The "Off the Beaten Path" section is a the brain child of the webmaster. However he only gets to update it when time allows. If you have an idea, topic or content for this section, please let us know. If you are interested in helping out SimplyFredericksburg.com by updating pages and catagories, please contact them here.
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Off
The Beaten Path The
online guide of what to see in Fredericksburg a
service of Simply Web Services
Driving
through the Court House District of Spotsylvania, you may notice a small
white brick building located near the Court House and current jail. This
white small brick building is the old jail which was originally built in
1781 and moved brick by brick to its present location. That original jail
was destroyed by fire around 1853. The current 6 room building (open on
selected dates throughout the year) was built in 1855-6 and was used as
the Counties jail until 1949, when it was condemned. The county still used
the building for office space and government storage (mainly used for storing
sports equipment for the county Parks and Recreations department), until
last year when it was slated for restoration. The old jail is in it's early
stages of restoration (research stages) and is scheduled to be finished
in the next couple of years.
