Nantucket built its first jail in 1696 on Vestal Street. In 1805 taxpayers decided to spend $2,090 (roughly the cost of building a whaleship at the time) to build a new, sturdier penal facility also on Vestal Street. Opened in 1805 and dubbed the “New Gaol,” the wood and iron structure represents colonial architecture with exceptional reinforcements.<\/p>\n
The new jail was constructed using massive oak timbers with iron bolts running the length of the walls, iron rods across the windows and heavy wooden doors reinforced with iron.<\/p>\n
The solidly-built jail forced prisoners to come up with creative escape plans. One 15-year-old boy crawled out the chimney flue; another prisoner had a key delivered to his second floor window by a woman using a block-and-tackle rigged up for the purpose.<\/p>\n
The jail housed its last prisoner in 1933. The town closed the property and transferred it to the Nantucket Historical Association in 1946.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"