Delay in Schedules
With the lingering issues related to the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic downturn following it, repairs and restoration has been delayed with capital and labor issues. These issues are being addressed with progress. Due to the condition of the property, it has become difficult to attact third-party support to invest in the future of this property. The majority of the financial repsonsibilty to repair the property will now soley depend on the success of other projects owned and operated by DSherwoodD Enterprises, LLC. Architectural design and engineering assessments are still ongoing and nearing completion. The revised schedule is to have these steps finalized and approved by late fall 2024. Permitting is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of this year with repairs commencing by 1st quarter 2025.
Navigating the Website
Due to the size of the photos, images, and renderings presented on this website,
it may be difficult to view them properly on smaller devices, such as phones. It is recommended to view this website on larger devices such as tablets,
laptops, and PCs.
Upon visiting a page on this website for the first time, the downloading of the images may take a while. Please be patient. Most browsers will cache these pages.
Future visits to a page will then render quicker.
Sections of the Jail
In order to visualize the full scope of the projects, the layout of the property and building should first be understood. The terms and definitions presented on this page will be used through-out the website. As you navigate this website, refer back to this page for explainations of the Old Stone Jail floorplans.
Front Courtyard The front courtyard rises about 5ft about the sidewalk and is grass covered. The future plan is to pave this area and make it into two patios.
Northside Courtyard This courtyard is located on the northern side of the property, bordering the Veteran's Park, and is a combination of concrete slabs and dirt. This area is planned for future event gatherings.
Southside Courtyard This courtyard is located on the southside of the building along Sample Street. This courtyard will be updated with improved stairways and handicap ramp access to the building. Utilizing the large sliding door in the surrounding security wall, this courtyard will be able to accommidate a larger volume of access to the building.
Warden's Area This area is within the castle like structure of the building at the front of the property. This section provided the previous wardens the public and private areas where they and their families worked and lived. The first floor held the adminitrative office and warden's office. A 3rd room on the first floor could be used as a gift shop. The second and third floors were the warden's private areas. The basement has rooms for utilities and maintenance of the building.
Stone Jail This section was the original prisioner's celling area. The first and second floors incorporated 14 stone and iron cells each. These cells are 9ft by 15ft and 10ft high. The ceilings are domed. Two larger rooms are accessed off of the main hallway in the Warden's Area. One room served as the kitchen and breakroom for the jail's staff in more recent times. The basement (dungeon) area repeats this layout but has dirt floors. The floors are still dirt to this day. The 3rd floor was added in 1910 when the Annex was added to the building.
Annex This section was added to the building in 1910. It is comprised of a steel girder super-structure with brick exterior walls. This section is 4 stories high and is essentially one open room. In the center of the room is a stack of 4 tiers of cells. Each tier has 20 cells. The basement of the Annex has many rooms that once held the kitchen, laundry, showers, and recreation areas.
Understanding the Restoration
The rebirth of the Old Stone Jail will be conducted over a 3 year period, with an estimated budget of $2.3 million. This endeavour involves
three (3) projects; the Repairs Project, the Restoration Project, and the Modernization Project.
To achieve the goal of restoring this building to it's original
appearenace at the turn of the 20th century:
- the Restoration Project will govern and direct its objectives, as well as the objectives of the Repairs and Modernization projects. While staying true as possible to the original architecture, repairs need to be addressed first and upgrades to the property to modern standards are in order for the building to safely manage larger volumes of people.
- the main objectives of the Repair Project are to fix all issues that are contributing to the decay of the building, such as replacing the roofs and broken windows.
- some of the objectives of the Modernization Project are to address issues that need to be updated/upgraded and not just 'fixed'. One example would be the upgrade of stairways, electrical, water/sewage, and gas. The Modernization Project is also tasked with the addition of the handicap access through-out the property and the addition of restrooms.
The best way to understand and follow the progression of the projects, is to view the website sections in the following order. At least the first time thru.