Old Jails Still Standing-

The old Stanislaus County Jail in LaGrand. Photo: Steve Newvine

We have an opportunity in the Central Valley to touch history many times and in many ways. . That opportunity comes anytime we care to hop in our cars and drive a relatively short distance.

Two jails in former gold rush towns are of special interest. While neither no longer houses inmates, these former jailhouses remain in place thanks to the thoughtful preservation by area history buffs.

What is known as the Old Stanislaus County Jail stands at the intersection of Yosemite Boulevard and La Grange Road just over the county line.

According to the description on the website NoeHill.com, the jail was built in 1900 to replace a jail that burned earlier that year.

When exploring it up close, the inside looks as though it might be the last place someone would want to be. It’s cramped, and in the days before heating and air conditioning, it was probably even more uncomfortable in extreme weather.

A look inside the Old Stanislaus County Jail. Photo: Syd Whittle, hmdb.org

The Old Stanislaus County Jail was in use for just six years, from 1856 to 1862. A new jail opened in Modesto and all functions surrounding the incarceration of inmates centered on that facility.

It is also interesting to note that the Old Jail was made of wood. All the other California jails recorded in the NoeHill website from that period were made of stone.

The building was restored by volunteers from the group E Clampus Vitus in 1976.

The Hornitos jail in a black and white photo from the Library of Congress website.

Another old jail that still stands is in Hornitos, Mariposa County. Hornitos was a thriving gold rush town in the 1800s, and while those days are long past, several historic buildings remain including the jail.

The Historical Marker Data Base (HMDB.org) states the jail was built in 1854 around the same time as the Old Stanislaus County jail. According to the database site, it was likely built by Chinese labor living in the area. Stone blocks quarried in the nearby hills were used.

We can assume there were some dangerous characters spending time behind the bars in both jails. While the gold rush brought prosperity to the region, it also brought crime, criminals and the need for a place to hold the people who found themselves on the wrong side of the law.

There is a large ring of iron embedded in the center of the floor inside. It is believed this ring was used to shackle prisoners. There are iron rings attached to the inside walls presumably for the same purpose.

Both jails are fascinating points of interest in the region. Both are relatively close to downtown Merced. While these former jails no longer keep inmates locked up, they stir the imagination as to what incarceration might have looked like back then.

Behind bars was a place no one wanted to be, then or now.

Steve Newvine lives in Merced.

His new book Beaten Paths and Back Roads is available at Lulu.com

Historical Marker Database, HMDB.org

NoeHill, NoeHill.com

Featured