Hancock County Jail, jail in Ellsworth (Maine)
Hancock County Jail is a brick building with a granite foundation built from 1885 to 1886 by architect Francis H. Fassett, located on the west side of State Street in Ellsworth, Maine. The structure has two distinct sections: the front houses the jailer's living quarters with four rooms per floor decorated with fireplaces and fine woodwork, while the back contains fourteen prison cells set in thick granite walls.
Built in 1885, the jail was the second constructed for Hancock County and designed by prominent Maine architect Fassett, incorporating architectural trends of the era. It remained operational until the early 1970s before the Ellsworth Historical Society rescued it from demolition in 1980 and transformed it into a museum.
The jail carries the county name and remains central to Ellsworth's identity as a symbol of how the town valued law and order. The design that merged the jailer's family home with the prison cells shows how community and justice administration were intertwined in the 1800s.
The building sits close to Ellsworth's City Hall, Congregational Church, and the old Tisdale House library, forming the town's historic core with easy access to other landmarks. Visitors can explore the original cells and living quarters during summer months on specific days or by appointment with the local historical society.
The jail features wickets, small openings at the back of the house covered with heavy metal fixtures that allowed the jailer to watch and speak with prisoners without fully entering the cell area. This ingenious design reveals how safety and family life were practically intertwined in this single structure.
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