List of jail and prison museums
This list is incomplete; you can help by . (August 2008) |
Museums have been created from many former jails and prisons.
Some old jails converted into museums are listed under the original name of the jail, especially if listed on the US National Register of Historic Places. For example, see Old St. Johns County Jail in St Augustine, Florida.
Museums with a main purpose not associated with the jail or prison in which they are located are listed separately, below the main list.
Name | Location | State/Province | Country | Jail/ Prison |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1811 Lincoln County Museum & Old Jail | Wiscasset | Maine | United States | Jail | |
Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary | Petros | Tennessee | United States | State Prison | |
Abashiri Prison Museum | Abashiri | Hokkaido | Japan | Prison | The only prison museum in Japan.[1] |
Alcatraz Island | San Francisco Bay Area | California | United States | Prison | |
Trois-Rivieres | Quebec | Canada | Prison | ||
Beaumaris Gaol | Beaumaris | Anglesey, Wales | United Kingdom | Jail | |
Bodmin Gaol | Bodmin | Cornwall | United Kingdom | Jail | http://www.bodminjail.org/ |
Buckingham Old Gaol | Buckingham | Buckinghamshire | United Kingdom | Jail | Museum of Buckingham and rural life as well as the building as a prison |
Burlington County Prison | Mount Holly | New Jersey | United States | Prison | |
Carthage Jail | Carthage | Illinois | United States | Jail | location of the death of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement |
Cell Block 7 Prison Museum, State Prison of Southern Michigan | Jackson, Michigan | Michigan | United States | Prison | Official website Museum located on an active prison ground, independently operated by the Ella Sharp Museum |
Central Penitentiary | San José | San José Province | Costa Rica | Prison | |
Cellular Jail | Port Blair | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | India | Prison | Many Indian Independence activists were kept in this prison by the British during the British Raj in India. |
Clink, The | London | London Borough of Southwark | United Kingdom | Prison | |
Cork City Gaol | Cork | County Cork | Republic of Ireland | Prison | |
Crumlin Road (HM Prison) | Belfast | Northern Ireland | United Kingdom | Prison | |
Daviess County Rotary Jail and Sheriff's Residence | Gallatin | Missouri | United States | Jail | Rotary Jail |
Eastern State Penitentiary | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | United States | Prison | |
Eden Camp Museum | Malton | North Yorkshire | United Kingdom | Prison | |
Ely | Cambridgeshire | United Kingdom | Jail | Official website | |
Fremantle Prison | Fremantle | Western Australia | Australia | Prison | |
Galleries of Justice | Nottingham | Nottinghamshire | United Kingdom | Jail and Prison | |
Gevangenpoort | The Hague | South Holland | Netherlands | Prison | |
Hexham Old Gaol | Hexham | Northumberland | United Kingdom | Prison | |
Cornwall | Ontario | Canada | Jail | ||
Hong Kong Correctional Services Museum | Southern District | Stanley | Hong Kong | Prison | Official webpage The museum comprises ten galleries with one mock gallows and two mock cells. |
Horsens Statsfængsel (Horsens Prison Museum) | Horsens | Region Midtjylland | Denmark | Prison | Official website |
Truckee | California | United States | Jail | ||
Lansing | Kansas | United States | Prison | [1] The Lansing Historical Museum is home to hundreds of artifacts and documents relating to the Kansas State Penitentiary/Lansing Correctional Facility. | |
Kilmainham Gaol | Dublin | Dublin Region | Ireland | Prison | |
Kingston | Ontario | Canada | Prison | Constructed 1833 - 1835, Kingston Penitentiary is the oldest standing prison dating to pre-confederation in Canada. After closing in 2013, the institution began operating tours seasonally from May-October, offering guided tours with online ticketing and Tour Guides as well as retired Correctional Staff on site to provide information to guests. | |
Cobourg Jail | Cobourg | Ontario | Canada | Jail | Part of the jail is incorporated into the King George Inn, which includes a museum and artifacts from its time as a working jail.[2] |
Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery | Beloozero | Vologda Oblast | Russia | Prison | |
Warsaw | Indiana | United States | Jail | ||
Liberty Jail | Liberty | Missouri | United States | Jail | Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement and associates were imprisoned there in 1838-1839 during the 1838 Mormon War. |
Gloucestershire | United Kingdom | Jail | http://www.littledeanjail.com | ||
Ontario | Canada | Jail | |||
Louisiana State Penitentiary | Angola | Louisiana | United States | Prison | http://angolamuseum.org/ |
Lubyanka (KGB) | Moscow | Russia | Prison | On Lubyanka Square | |
Ludwigsburg | Baden-Württemberg | Germany | Prison | ||
Malaysia Prison Museum | Malacca City | Malacca | Malaysia | Prison | |
Memorial and Education Centre Andreasstrasse | Erfurt | Thuringia | Germany | Prison | Former Stasi prison, used for holding political prisoners. |
Goldwaite | Texas | United States | Jail | ||
Missouri State Penitentiary | Jefferson City | Missouri | United States | Prison | |
Montgomery County Jail and Sheriff's Residence | Crawfordsville | Indiana | United States | Jail | Rotary Jail |
Lynchburg | Tennessee | United States | Jail | ||
Rio de Janeiro | Rio de Janeiro | Brazil | Prison | ||
Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec | Quebec City | Quebec | Canada | Prison | Mostly an art museum |
Museo de Tradiciones y Leyendas | León | León Department | Nicaragua | Jail | |
Ushuaia | Tierra del Fuego | Argentina | Prison | http://museomaritimo.com/ | |
Nationaal Gevangenismuseum | Veenhuizen | Drenthe | Netherlands | Prison | National Dutch prison museum |
Newcastle Gaol Museum | Toodyay | Western Australia | Australia | ||
Norwegian POW Museum | Ostrzeszów | Greater Poland Voivodeship also known as Wielkopolska Province |
Poland | Prison | World War II POW camp |
Ohio State Reformatory | Mansfield | Ohio | United States | Prison | |
West Bend, Wisconsin | Wisconsin | United States | Jail | Operated by Washington County Historical Society, Inc. | |
Old Franklin County Jail in the former Franklin County Jail | Chambersburg | Pennsylvania | United States | Jail | |
in the Old Hamilton County Jail |
Jasper | Florida | United States | Jail | Web page |
Old Tolland County Jail and Museum | Tolland | Connecticut | United States | Jail | |
Mount Dora | Florida | United States | Jail | Currently houses the Royellou Museum. | |
Old Fauquier County Jail | Warrenton | Virginia | United States | Jail | |
Old Idaho State Penitentiary | Boise | Idaho | United States | Prison | |
Independence | Missouri | United States | Jail | Website | |
Lindsay | Ontario | Canada | Jail | Website | |
Albion | Indiana | United States | Jail | ||
Allegan | Michigan | United States | Jail | ||
Barnesville | Georgia | United States | Jail | ||
Canton | Mississippi | United States | Jail | ||
Old Jail Museum (Conyers, Georgia) in the former Rockdale County Jail | Conyers | Georgia | United States | Jail | |
Crawfordsville | Indiana | United States | Jail | ||
Old Jail Museum (Dubuque, Indiana) in the former Dubuque County Jail | Dubuque | Iowa | United States | Jail | |
Gonzales | Texas | United States | Jail | ||
Goochland | Virginia | United States | Jail | ||
Greenwood | Arkansas | United States | Jail | ||
Jim Thorpe | Pennsylvania | United States | Jail | ||
Old Jail Museum (Iola, Kansas) | Iola | Kansas | United States | Jail | information |
Knoxville | Georgia | United States | Jail | ||
Lawrenceburg | Tennessee | United States | Jail | ||
Smethport | Pennsylvania | United States | Jail | ||
Silverton | Texas | United States | Jail | ||
Old Jail Museum (St. Augustine, Florida) in the Old St. Johns County Jail | St. Augustine | Florida | United States | Jail | |
Taylorsville | North Carolina | United States | Jail | ||
Thompson | Montana | United States | Jail | ||
Valparaiso | Indiana | United States | Jail | ||
Winchester | Tennessee | United States | Jail | ||
Old Melbourne Jail | Melbourne | Victoria | Australia | Prison | |
Old Newgate Prison | East Granby | Connecticut | United States | Prison | Former mine/Colonial prison; also spelled "Old New-Gate Prison" |
Old Prison Museum (Deer Lodge, Montana) | Deer Lodge | Montana | United States | Prison | |
Wilkesboro | North Carolina | United States | Jail | Tom Dooley of the song "Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley" was held here before his trial. | |
Patarei Prison | Tallinn | Harju County | Estonia | Prison | Official webpage |
Peter and Paul Fortress | St. Petersburg | St. Petersburg | Russia | Prison | |
Pied-du-Courant Prison | Montreal | Quebec | Canada | Prison | |
Pottawattamie County Jail | Council Bluffs | Iowa | United States | Jail | Rotary Jail |
Presidio Modelo | Nueva Gerona | Isla de la Juventud | Cuba | Prison | |
Qasr Prison (Qasr museum-Qarden) | Tehran | Tehran | Iran | Prison | www |
Richard III Museum | York | North Yorkshire | United Kingdom | Prison | Primarily about Richard III, the museum also has a working portcullis, a medieval execution chamber, and a small prison cell |
Robben Island Museum | Robben Island | Western Cape | South Africa | Prison | |
Hemphill | Texas | United States | Jail | ||
Solovetsky Monastery | Solovetsky Islands | Russia | |||
Texas Prison Museum | Huntsville | Texas | United States | Prison | |
Towhid Prison(Ebrat Museum) | Tehran | Tehran | Iran | Prison | |
Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum | Phnom Penh | Cambodia | Prison | ||
Ulucanlar Prison Museum | Altındağ | Ankara | Turkey | Prison | www |
West Virginia Penitentiary | Moundsville | West Virginia | United States | Prison | www |
Wicklow Gaol | Wicklow | County Wicklow | Republic of Ireland | Prison | Irish National Monument |
Wilson County Jailhouse Museum | Floresville | Texas | United States | Jail | |
Rawlins | Wyoming | United States | Prison | ||
Laramie | Wyoming | United States | Prison | www | |
Yuma Territorial Prison | Yuma | Arizona | United States | Prison | |
Shrewsbury Prison | Shrewsbury | Shropshire | United Kingdom | Prison | |
Gloucester Prison | Gloucester | Gloucestershire | United Kingdom | Prison | |
Shepton Mallet Prison | Shepton Mallet | Somerset | United Kingdom | Prison |
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "Abashiri astounds with its ice and convict connections". The Japan Times. 2013-03-24. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
- ^ Ron Brown (2006). Behind Bars: Inside Ontario's Heritage Gaols. Dundurn. p. 25. ISBN 9781459711143.
Categories:
- Lists of museums by subject
- Prison museums
- Lists of prisons