Rockford in Coosa County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Coosa County
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Old Rock Jail
Photographed by Mark Hilton, April 2, 2019
1. Coosa County Marker
The first commissioners selected a site along the south bank of Hatchemadega Creek to serve as the county seat and named it Lexington. In 1835, the seat moved to its present location at Rockford.
In operation for over nine decades, the jail closed in 1938. The Coosa County Historical Preservation Authority opened a museum in the facility in 1973. The building remains largely unchanged from its original construction. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the oldest stone jail in Alabama.
Placed
this page online
Erected 2016 by Alabama Historical Association.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Law Enforcement • Political Subdivisions. In addition, it is included in the Alabama Historical Association series list. A significant historical month for this entry is August 1839.
Location. 32° 53.398′ N, 86° 13.224′ W. Marker is in Rockford, Alabama, in Coosa County. It is at the intersection of Alabama Route 22 and Jackson Street, on the right when traveling west on Alabama Route 22. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Rockford AL 35136, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in East Alabama. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the original Cherokee Nation, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At
Photographed by Mark Hilton, April 2, 2019
2. Old Rock Jail Marker
Regarding Coosa County / Old Rock Jail. The $2,745 cost of the jail construction in 1842 is equivalent in purchasing power to $84,618.31 in 2019, a difference of $81,873.31 over 177 years.
Also see . . . Encyclopedia of Alabama article on Coosa County. (Submitted on April 2, 2019, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)
Photographed by Mark Hilton, April 2, 2019
3. Coosa County / Old Rock Jail Marker
Photographed by Mark Hilton, April 2, 2019
4. The Old Rock Jail
Photographed by Mark Hilton, April 2, 2019
5. Stone at jail - Built under Federal Emergency Administration Project No. Ala 1410-F
Originally called the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, it was renamed the Public Works Administration in 1935 and shut down in 1944. The PWA spent over $7 billion in contracts to private construction firms that did the actual work.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 19, 2024. It was originally submitted on April 2, 2019, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 889 times since then and 79 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on April 2, 2019, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
