Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 02/15/1977
NRHP Listing Date 01/20/1978
NRHP Reference Number 78003015
Warrenton‘s former jail is a singular example of the state’s early county penal architecture. The complex includes the 1808 brick jail, converted to the jailer’s residence and completed in 1823, and the parallel 1823 stone jail with its high-walled jailyard. Located next to the courthouse, the Old Fauquier County Jail provides a telling picture of conditions endured by inmates of such county facilities. A jail was built for the county in 1779, but it proved to be inadequate within a number of years. The more substantial brick structure was finished in 1808, and on October 24 of that year the keys to the new jail were turned over to the sheriff. With the completion of the stone jail and its plank-lined cells, the resulting two-part building served the county until 1966. The complex is now maintained by the Fauquier County Historical Society as a county history museum.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: April 13, 2021
