Old Pickens Jail

Old Pickens Jail
Old Pickens Jail, February 2011
LocationJohnson and Pendleton Sts., Pickens, South Carolina
Coordinates34°52′51″N 82°42′21″W / 34.88083°N 82.70583°W / 34.88083; -82.70583
Area1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1903 (1903)
NRHP reference No.79002390
Added to NRHPApril 11, 1979

Old Pickens Jail, also known as Pickens County Jail, is a historic jail located at Pickens, Pickens County, South Carolina. It was built in 1903, and is a two-story, brick building with a two-story crenellated tower. It was expanded in 1928 to provide additional space for the cellblock. The jail closed in August 1975, and has since been used as a historical museum and art gallery.

This building gained infamy when Willie Earle was forcefully removed from the Pickens County Jail by a mob on February 16, 1947. When confronted by the mob, the jailer's response was: "I guess you boys know what you're doing." Willie Earle was subsequently lynched nearby in Greenville County, SC.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

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