(706) 864-0743 (Lumpkin County Historical Society)
75 Enota Drive, Dahlonega, GA 30533
www.lumpkinhistory.org/jail-museum
Open during select festivals. See website for details.
The 1884 Jail was built to house those who were elected to uphold the law as well as those who broke it - jail cells are on the second floor, and the sheriff or a deputy and his family lived on the ground floor.
The 1884 jail was placed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1985. When a new detention center was built in 1964, the downstairs of the 1884 jail was remodeled for County offices. The second floor jail cells remain as they were when the jail was in operation. Visitors can see the heavy iron doors of the cell block and scribbling on the cell walls made by inmates. A charred area of the floor resulted from a fire set by prisoners who were hoping to escape while the sheriff was busy putting out the fire. The first floor museum displays household items that would have been used in the 1800s and early 1900s.
