as well, it is one of only three debtors' prisons in the country on the National Register.
History
The structure that stands today in central Accomac, not far from the Accomack County Courthouse, is the last survivor of a complex which initially included both a
jail
and a jailyard. In 1775 the Accomack County court ordered a committee to "plan and lay off a
Draught for a new prison for this County.[3]" Construction was completed on the building itself in 1782, in which year an inspection committee approved of it, but recommended "that a suitable wall made of Brick around
the Gaol at a convenient distance is absolutely necessary and that there ought to be a small house built at the public expense in one corner and adjoining the said wall for the residence of the jailor, without which we are of opinion that the prisoners cannot be kept in perfect security.[3]" The county accepted these additions to the complex in 1784. In 1969 archaeological work was undertaken by the Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission in the vicinity of the debtors' prison. This revealed that the complex as completed in 1784 was seventy feet square and contained within a brick wall. The jail was in the northeast corner of the square; the surviving jailor's house formed part of the yard's south wall, and was located at the west corner.[3] The contractor for the initial construction project was listed as one Selby Simpson.[7]Closeup of the front of the prison building showing the latticed windows and heavy oak door
By the first decades of the nineteenth century the jailer's house was already sorely in need of repair, and consequently the county began to study the possibility of finding an alternative use for the property. At around the same time a state law had been passed requiring provision of separate facilities for
Historic American Buildings Survey between 1958[3] and 1961, when it was found to be in good condition; the formal report was placed on file in 1961.[7]
The building is open by appointment.
Design
Physically, the debtors' prison is a small building, measuring 18' by 30'; it is one
sash, but they retain certain trappings of the building's conversion in 1824, including the iron lattice covering; also dating to the same time are the structure's heavy batten doors. Two windows, one at the east end and one on the south façade, were bricked up in the twentieth century. The same century saw the addition of a box cornice and slate roof to the house.[3] Only one outbuilding, a small wooden shed, was documented on the property by HABS.[7]
View of the back of the prison
The interior plan of the house is typical of a small
chimneybreast can be found in the west room, which is otherwise unembellished. A framed partition separates the two rooms, and is covered on both sides with horizontal beaded sheathing.[3] The whole interior is fitted with diagonal board doors. The HABS investigation found that some refitting and redesigning of the interior rooms had taken place, but that finding out what changes were involved would have required significant removal of interior fittings; in addition, there was much evidence of repair, but little of outright alteration.[7]
Significance
The Accomac debtors' prison is significant for a number of reasons; chief among them is that it is the oldest municipal building still standing in Accomack County. In addition, it is a rare survivor of its type, and well illustrates the typical eighteenth-century penal building once common in Virginia.[3]
Bibliography
Heite, Edward E., "Excavation of the Accomack Jailyard Wall," Quarterly Bulletin of the Archaeological Society of Virginia, 26 (1972).
Whitelaw, Ralph T., "Accomack County Debtors' Prison," 1946, ms. in possession of Drummondtown Branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities
