Local
records show that a jail became necessary in 1736
“because of the temper of Captain Ebenezer Harker who
came into the home of James Salter and in a contumacious
and insulting manner, in the face and presence of His
Majesty’s justice of the peace and divers others, did
call Thomas Lovick, chairman of the court, several
opprobrious and scandalous names and indulged in
profanely abusive language”. Therefore, to keep the
peace and punish offenders, the first jail was built in
1737. In 1829 the Old Jail, Beaufort’s third jailhouse
that now stands on the grounds of the Beaufort Historic
Site, was built at a cost of $2,800.
Both prisoner and jailer lived in close quarters with
the prisoners on the left and jailer on the right.
However, the prisoners were
not coddled; as the only source of heat was in the
jailer’s quarters and very little heat filtered into the
prisoners’ quarters. Records show that it cost about 49
cents a day to keep a prisoner in jail. This included
his food, fresh straw, and whatever amenities of life
could be provided.
The
jail remained in use until 1954. After a new jail was
built, the Old Jail was used for years as a museum on
its original site. It was eventually moved through great
effort, due to its mass of 500 tons, to the Beaufort
Historic Site in 1977.
In 1978, as masonry work was being inspected and
repaired several interesting discoveries were made. A
beam with a hole bored in it was found over the
stairwell. This is assumed to be the beam through which
the hangman’s noose must have been strung to hang Lawyer
Bryan in 1874 for murder. The only person to be hung
inside the jail, Lawyer Bryan had shot and killed
Michael T. Langley, a man of considerable prominence in
Onslow County.
The Beaufort Historical Association now uses the jail in
their educational tours for students and to show how the
prison system in those times were much harsher than they
are today.
Local
records show that a jail became necessary in 1736
“because of the temper of Captain Ebenezer Harker who
came into the home of James Salter and in a contumacious
and insulting manner, in the face and presence of His
Majesty’s justice of the peace and divers others, did
call Thomas Lovick, chairman of the court, several
opprobrious and scandalous names and indulged in
profanely abusive language”. Therefore, to keep the
peace and punish offenders, the first jail was built in
1737. In 1829 the Old Jail, Beaufort’s third jailhouse
that now stands on the grounds of the Beaufort Historic
Site, was built at a cost of $2,800. 
ere
not coddled; as the only source of heat was in the
jailer’s quarters and very little heat filtered into the
prisoners’ quarters. Records show that it cost about 49
cents a day to keep a prisoner in jail. This included
his food, fresh straw, and whatever amenities of life
could be provided.
The
jail remained in use until 1954. After a new jail was
built, the Old Jail was used for years as a museum on
its original site. It was eventually moved through great
effort, due to its mass of 500 tons, to the Beaufort
Historic Site in 1977.