Herkimer County Jail, also known as the 1834 Jail, is a historic jail

Jail

A jail is a short-term detention facility in the United States and Canada.Jail may also refer to:In entertainment:*Jail , a 1966 Malayalam movie*Jail , a 2009 Bollywood movie...

 in Herkimer

Herkimer (village), New York

Herkimer is a village in Herkimer County, New York, United States, about southeast of Utica. As of the 2000 census, it had a population of 7,498 people. The village is named after the Herkimers, Palatine German immigrants who settled in this area in 1723...

, Herkimer County, New York

Herkimer County, New York

Herkimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. As of the 2010 census, the population was 64,519. It is named after General Nicholas Herkimer, who died from battle wounds in 1777 after taking part...

. It is a two story structure with high basement, five bays wide, of ashlar

Ashlar

Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...

 limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 blocks with dressed quoins built in 1835. It features a gable roof with oval window and narrow cornice and a Federal

Federal architecture

Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...

 style entrance. Tours are regularly given by the Herkimer County Historical Society

Herkimer County Historical Society

Herkimer County Historical Society is located in the 1884 Suiter Building, a historic home in Herkimer, Herkimer County, New York. It is a -story, wood frame structure with red pressed brick walls laid in black mortar built in 1884. It features a complex pitched roof of slate with a brick...

 and a museum display highlights the cases of Chester Gillette

Chester Gillette

Chester Ellsworth Gillette , an American convicted murderer, became the basis for the fictional character Clyde Griffiths in the Theodore Dreiser novel, An American Tragedy, which in turn was the basis of the 1951 Academy Award-winning film A Place in the Sun.- Background :Gillette was born in...

 (the "American Tragedy") and Roxalana Druse.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1972.

External links

• Herkimer Jail, Herkimer, Herkimer, NY: 2 photos and 1 data page at Historic American Building Survey
• Herkimer County Historical Society website