Monticello Old Jail Museum - (850) 576-0721

A window into life and community activities in rural Florida in the early to mid-twentieth century

New to Monticello in 2009 I happened to notice a fine looking foursquare brick building that looked as though it was unused. It turned out it had been used as a jail, and the iron on the cell floor was still intact. I recognized it as an early 20th century style I had seen when doing research for my dissertation.
I found that most people in town didn’t know anything about the building. Our board of directors agreed to ask the county for a long-term lease. The County commission leased it to us for twenty-five years at $1.00 a year.
We organized “clean-up” days and removed rooms full of junk and a few treasures the county stored there since it closed around 1970. We decided this fine old building would make a perfect museum for Monticello.
When completed, the Monticello Old Jail Museum project will provide a window into life and community activities in rural Florida during the 1930s. The museum will be open to the public and offer educational programs for north/central Florida students at all levels. The museum’s offices and resident non-profits plan to keep the building open five days per week to offer general Monticello and Jefferson County historical and cultural information to visitors.
Areas of the jail building will provide offices and meeting space to be used as a community center by Main Street Monticello and other Jefferson County non-profits.

This building is so located that with proper signage it will be immediately noticed from State Route 90, a major east-west artery, providing a destination point for visitors to Monticello and Jefferson County.
We are seeking grant funds to be used to hire a restoration architect to survey and create a plan for restoration and protection of interior and exterior of main building and adjacent "women's jail."
We will photograph, stabilize and protect prisoner’s writing on walkway walls in the exercise areas of second floor and in women’s jail. Clean, paint and refurbish interior walls and floors as needed in 3 rooms and hall in basement, 6 rooms and two halls on main floor, 10 cells, prisoner exercise area, bathroom and hall on second floor and two large cells in "women's jail." Clean, refurbish, or replace where necessary exterior trim and gutters on main building and "women's jail building" according to recommendations of architect. Paint exterior trim. Replace exterior doors, windows and shutters as necessary. Remove pigeons from attic, remove nests and other material and seal openings in eaves. Replace electrical wiring, lights, switches and power boxes as needed. Use wiring in conduit for safety. Purchase and install air-conditioning/heat units as required.
Finally, we will add basic signage as required for safety and public information. Create and print brochures and other advertising media.
We will continue searching records for complete information on the old jail building and completing local, state and national historic register applications.
We found only three other jail buildings in Florida constructed in the same manner, including residential quarters for the sheriff’s and his office. No other has the adjacent two-room “women’s jail.” One is in St. Augustine and open to the public as a developed historic site. A second is in Jasper but is rarely open, offering no way of contacting anyone to enter. The third is in Perry but is in private hands.
Several people in Jefferson County remember the jail when it was operating. One or two own memorabilia and are willing to donate or loan it to the museum. Others are willing to be recorded as they talk about the jail operation. They tell of sheriff’s wives cooking for the prisoners and even becoming acting sheriff when their husband’s died in office. One tells the story of an attempted jailbreak. Another lived in the jail building as a teen. We plan to collect this oral history and use it as part of the story told to visitors.
People have started donating objects we will need to create an authentic 1925 to 1935 home including an iron bed, a 1925 electric cook stove, a radio and some small appliances.


Anne Holt, Ph.D., Project Manager
Main Street Monticello Florida, Inc.
Old Jail Museum

Tags: Museum