Norfolk County Jail (1795)

The Norfolk County Jail was a wooden jail located on Highland Street in Dedham, Massachusetts.^[1] Following the creation of Norfolk County in 1792, Timothy Gay deeded land to the county for the creation of the jail in October 1794.^[2] Construction began that year but it was not complete until 1795.^[2][3] The donated land, next to Gay's tavern on Highland Street, was on the corner of Court Street next to the present day St. Paul's Church.^[2][4]

It received its first prisoner in February 1795.^[1] It housed Jason Fairbanks after his murder conviction, but he escaped.^[5] Timothy Gay, Jr. was the jail keeper and was indicted, but acquitted.^[5]

It was replaced by a new Norfolk County Jail in 1817.^[6][7]

Notes

References

1. Parr 2009.
2. Hanson 1976, p. 166.
3. Hurd 1884, p. 6.
4. "Dedham Museum & Archive Speaker Series". The Dedham Times. Vol. 32, no. 15. April 12, 2024. p. 15.
5. Hanson 1976, p. 188.
6. Dedham Historical Society 2001, p. 11.
7. The Associated Press (September 13, 1999). "Former Dedham jail being converted into upscale condominiums". South Coast Today. Retrieved August 15, 2019.

Works cited

• Dedham Historical Society (2001). Dedham. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-0944-0. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
• Hanson, Robert Brand (1976). Dedham, Massachusetts, 1635-1890. Dedham Historical Society.
• Hurd, Duane Hamilton (1884). History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men. J. W. Lewis & Company. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
• Parr, James L. (1 October 2009). Dedham: Historic and Heroic Tales from Shiretown. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. ISBN 978-1-62584-277-0. Retrieved 15 August 2019.