New County Jail

The New County Jail is a three-story brick building with stone trim and a peaked roof located within the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. The structure houses prisoner cells in the upper levels while the ground floor contains the sheriff's residence and office spaces.

Construction started in 1860 but the Civil War delayed completion until 1870, when it replaced an earlier wooden jail lost to a fire. This rebuilding effort represents the community's need to restore a functioning detention facility after losing its original structure.

The building shows how law enforcement facilities evolved in rural Virginia, with separate areas designed for holding prisoners and housing the sheriff's family.

The jail is part of the broader historic site and can be viewed during the park's regular hours of operation. Visitors should expect uneven flooring and stairs when exploring the three-story structure, so comfortable footwear is helpful.

The prisoner cells on the upper two floors were built without any heating, reflecting the harsh living conditions of 19th-century incarceration. This sparse setup shows how different standards of confinement were from modern expectations.