It is ironic that local executives turned the Old Baltimore County Jail, which once housed convicted felons during the 18th and 19th centuries, into an office building.

Still showing off its pre-Civil War prison architecture, visitors to the city of Towson, Maryland will easily find the historic prison located on 200 Bosley Avenue at Towsontown Boulevard.

Constructed in 1855 by Dixon & Dixon, the jail, along with the Baltimore County Courthouse, proved their governmental importance by transforming the county into a self-governing jurisdiction.

Simply put, Baltimore County had the power to establish its own unique laws.

In 1855 this site became the center of an infamous civil rights issue when white citizens broke into the jail and lynched an African-American man before his execution date.

In the winter of 2011, county officials transformed the structure into an office building, renaming it Bosley Hall, after the local doctor who donated his estate to the jail in the 1800s.

On the National Register of Historic Places, this former prison characterizes a piece of Towson's architectural and racial history, making this site both significant and unique.