Old Jail

Old Jail is a Pennsylvania historical marker in Lancaster, Lancaster County, dedicated 2015.

W. King St., north side, between Prince & Water Sts., Lancaster

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The Lancaster jail was located a half block to the north from 1753 to 1851. The last remaining Conestoga Indians were held here in protective custody in 1763. They were killed by a vigilante group, the Paxton Boys. No arrests were made.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library

Historical maps covering this location

1755 · North America from the French of Mr. D'Anville, improved with the back settlements of… (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1780 · A new and accurate map of the province of Pennsylvania in North America, from the best… (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1782 · Carte de la Pensylvanie et du Nouveau Jersey (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1792 · A Map Of The State Of Pennsylvania. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
Lancaster, County, PA, map 1 (Penn State University Libraries)

North America from the French of Mr. D'Anville, improved with the back settlements of…, 1755, covering the location of Old Jail, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — North America from the French of Mr. D'Anville, improved with the back settlements of…, 1755, covering this location. Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

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Marker data: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission via data.pa.gov

More markers nearby

On the National Register nearby

Fulton Opera House90 ft
Lancaster Trust Company220 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.