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Edenton in Chowan County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
 

Chowan County Jail

 
 
Chowan County Jail Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 17, 2023
1. Chowan County Jail Marker
Inscription.
Jailhouse History
The original Edenton jail was built in 1722 when the town incorporated. The present jail is the county's fifth. Ebenezer Paine constructed it in 1825, probably using 1773 plans by John Hawks, architect of Tryon Palace.

Colonial officials used county jails primarily as holding cells for people unable to post bond, including the accused awaiting trial, material witnesses, and informers. Actual time spent in jail by an individual was not considered punishment. Debtors remained in jail until their debts could be paid. Inmates provided their own food and clothing. Regardless of the reasons for their imprisonment, men and women, young and old, and the sick and well shared the same cells. Discipline was lax.

By the antebellum period, jail time was often included as part of a person's punishment. Jailors also began separating the sexes, but not other groups. Until the twentieth century, most county jails reeked with pestilence, disease, and vermin. The county used this jail until they built a new regional facility in 1979.

Slave Rebellion
One of America's most important uprisings of enslaved people took place in 1831 in nearby Southampton County, Virginia. Nat Turner and his followers rose up in the dark of night and murdered more than fifty
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white men, women, and children. Officials eventually caught the culprits and executed them. White mobs also murdered more than a hundred additional innocent slaves. In the ensuing hysterical climate, other southern states soon began apprehending and executing enslaved people.

In Edenton, officials imprisoned nineteen enslaved people in the jail. A lack of evidence eventually led to their release, but personal recollections tell another side of the story. Harriet Jacobs, an enslaved woman living in Edenton, described some of the incidents she observed:
Those who never witnessed such scenes can hardly believe what I know was inflicted at this time on innocent men, women, and children, against whom there was not the slightest ground for suspicion... Everywhere men, women, and children were whipped till the blood stood in puddles at their feet. Some received five hundred lashes; others were tied hands and feet, and tortured with a bucking paddle, which blisters the skin terribly.

Harriet A. Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written By Herself.


[other photo captions]
• John Hawks’ 1773 plans for a jail in Edenton.
Virginia Gazette, June 13, 1745
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African AmericansCivil RightsLaw Enforcement. A significant historical year for this entry is 1722.
 
Location.
Marker detail: Law Enforcement Officer at the Jail, 1972 image. Click for full size.
2. Marker detail: Law Enforcement Officer at the Jail, 1972
36° 3.484′ N, 76° 36.464′ W. Marker is in Edenton, North Carolina, in Chowan County. Marker is on Court Street just north of East King Street, on the left when traveling north. Marker is located on the north side of the Historic Chowan County Courthouse, overlooking the historic jail. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 115 East King Street, Edenton NC 27932, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Colonial Punishment (here, next to this marker); 1825 Chowan County Jail (a few steps from this marker); 1767 Chowan County Courthouse (within shouting distance of this marker); Edenton Tea Pot (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Residence of Mrs. Elizabeth King (about 300 feet away); Joseph Hewes (about 500 feet away); a different marker also named Joseph Hewes (about 500 feet away); Josephine Napoleon Leary (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Edenton.
 
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Chowan County Jail
 
Also see . . .
1. Chowan County Jail.
This 1825 jail was built by Ebenezer Paine, a Sea Captain with skills learned from building sailing ships.
(Submitted on May 29, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.) 

2. Old Jail in Edenton North Carolina.
The Chowan County Jail is the
Marker detail: Harriet Ann Jacobs, 1813-1897 image. Click for full size.
3. Marker detail: Harriet Ann Jacobs, 1813-1897
oldest documented jail in North Carolina, and the fifth jail built constructed in 1825 with earlier buildings dated 1722, 1741, 1788 and 1809. This building was in operation for 150 years closing in 1975 and has stood vacant for more than 40 years until Edenton Historical Commission took responsibility for this facility and its restoration. The jail has a great historical significance with references to Harriet Jacobs, Captain Robert Quinn and Nat Turner Revolt.
(Submitted on May 29, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.) 
 
Chowan County Jail Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 17, 2023
4. Chowan County Jail Marker
(rightmost of 2 markers at this location)
1825 Chowan County Jail (<i>view from near marker</i>) image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 17, 2023
5. 1825 Chowan County Jail (view from near marker)
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on May 29, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 28, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 63 times since then and 5 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on May 29, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.

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Mar. 29, 2024