Gaston County Historic Jail
By Jeff Pruett
As Director of the Gaston County Museum of Art & History I get asked often “what are our plans for the historic jail?” In this blog, I plan to discuss a thumbnail sketch of the historic jail’s past and its future. To begin with, let’s discuss the jail’s interesting history.

In 1848 the Gaston County Jail was completed by Abraham Mauney and his enslaved African-American workers, and Benjamin Morris became the county’s first Sheriff. In the 19th century, it was routine for the Sheriff and his family to live in the jail, so they occupied the lower floors while the prisoner’s jail cells were located on the second floor. It was expected that the Sheriff’s wife and family would do the cooking, cleaning, and laundry for the prisoners.

In 1874, there was a fire in the jail, but the structure still retains original brick, cells, windows, and foundations. The building like other 19th century jails is a two story brick structure with a basement that recesses to the first floor. The walls are twenty-four inch solid load bearing brick walls and the exterior is penetrated by the windows on the upper level that are placed evenly across the front and rear of the building. The original bars are embedded in the windows and they all have granite sills. The work involved in restoring the jail is going to be an undertaking, however with the background from other successful jail restorations steps can be taken to move forward.

If you have input on how you would like to see the jail renovated, we are having a Jail Forum on Thursday, June 5 from 6:30 – 8:30 PM at the museum. After this forum, the museum will be making a formal plan for the jail, creating sketches, and beginning to move forward on the restoration of this priceless structure. Please RSVP to Gina Anderson at 704.922.7681 x100 if you are interested in this project.