The Old Wilkes Jail

The Old Wilkes Jail. . , The Old Wilkes Jail, built in 1859 and used as the county jail until 1915 is one of the best-preserved examples of nineteenth-century penal architecture in North Carolina. Most important is the survival of its primitive security, including the front door which contains nails an inch apart so that a prisoner would not be able to saw his way out of the building. Access to the cells is through the original iron and wood doors. The iron bars remain on the windows, as well as the primitive sanitary devices in the upstairs cells. Four rooms on the south side of the building were used as the jailor's living quarters. The four rooms opposite were all used as cells and at least one was used for female prisoners. , Some of the more infamous prisoners to the old jail included Tom "Dooley" Dula and Otto Wood. Tom Dula was arrested for the murder of Laura Foster in 1867 and incarcerated at the old jail until his lawyer, former Governor Zebulon B. Vance, had a change of venue and moved the trial to Statesville. Otto Wood was known as an escape artist and had reportedly escaped from 10 prisons by the time he was shot and killed in 1930. The Old Wilkes Jail was the only jail from which Wood never escaped. He was imprisoned here at the age of 13 for stealing a bicycle. , The Old Wilkes Jail was restored to its original form in the late 1960s by Old Wilkes, Inc. (now Wilkes Heritage Museum, Inc.) and opened as an historic site in the mid-1970s. Today the Old Wilkes Jail is part of the Wilkes Heritage Museum with guided tours offered Monday through Friday beginning at the museum. For more information: 336-667-3171 or www.wilkesheritagemuseum.com , [photo captions] , . This image shows the deplorable shape the Old Wilkes Jail was in prior to being restored in the late 1960s. , . The photograph on the left shows the restored kitchen on the jailor’s side of the building. , . The photograph on the right shows the inside of Tom “Dooley” Dula’s cell. , Sponsorship of this sign was provided in part by the Town of Wilkesboro. , The North Carolina mountains and foothills were designated the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area in recognition of their natural beauty and living traditions of music, craft, agriculture, and Cherokee culture. This location is part of a regional trail of distinctive heritage sites. Ask for information at area visitor centers. , More information online at: www.blueridgeheritage.com