Tuolumne County Jail
1857 – 1960
Following a Grand Jury indictment terming the current county jail a “public nuisance,” this site was acquired by the Board of Supervisors and a new jail constructed in 1857. The original building burned on December 20, 1865, taking the life of inmate Tom Horn who had started the fire in his cell.
Using some salvaged material from the prior jail, the present structure was completed in 1866. Quarters for the jailer were added to the front at a later date, and the jail served the County of Tuolumne until 1960 when the county justice building on the adjacent lot to the north was erected and this building dedicated as the County Museum.
Marker can be reached from West Bradford Avenue west of Lower Sunset Drive, on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
