The Old Clay County Jail in Green Cove Springs, Florida is a historic landmark with a fascinating and rather bone-chilling past. Built in 1894, the imposing brick structure served as the county jail for nearly a century before being decommissioned in the 1970s.
Constructed of one-foot-thick brick walls, there were sixteen jail cells in various sizes with a Maximum Security and Solitary Confinement wing upstairs. In addition to a number of holding cells, the first floor also contained the dispatch center, where operators took reports of crimes and handled incoming calls of crimes in progress. There was also a small connecting corridor that led to the Jailer’s living quarters. During these times, the jailer’s who obviously ran the jail, lived in this connected section and many raised their families within the same walls as the inmates next door.
The jail held men, women, juveniles, alcoholics, homeless, and the mentally ill. They all were held for a variety of different crimes, from trespassing to assaults, all the way up to Kidnapping and of course, Murder.
The Old Clay County Jail was not your average correctional facility. It was a place where inmates lived in cramped and unsanitary conditions, often enduring brutal treatment at the hands of their guards. The cells were small, damp, and dark, with little ventilation and no running water. Inmates were forced to sleep on hard metal frames and were given meager rations of food. Those who attempted to escape were met with harsh punishment, including solitary confinement and even physical torture. The jail is also noted for having seven executions on site between 1894 and 1916. All were conducted at the jail, on a scaffold that has long been removed, and all by hanging.
There have been at least two “escapes” from the Old Clay County Jail. One involved Billy Joe Krebb, who made a key out of a spoon in 1964. He let himself and the other prisoners out of their cells. However, the make-shift key didn’t work for the main front door of the jail, so the would-be escapees were stuck—and, of course, put back in their cells. Not much of an escape plan. The jail is also noted for having seven executions on site between 1894 and 1916. All were conducted at the jail, on a scaffold that has long been removed, and all by hanging.
Clay County Jail was nowhere anyone wished to be. There was even a tiny wooden sweat box out back for any prisoner that would become a troublemaker. Prisons once used this archaic punishment technique as a method of brutal solitary confinement. No air conditioning in those days and little ventilation in the South’s sweltering summer months, combined with disease and the cries of the insane and desperate, made conditions hard to tolerate for most inmates — no wonder this old jail is reportedly haunted.
Despite its grim history, the Old Clay County Jail has become an attraction in recent years. Curious people often stop by to learn about its storied past, including the infamous escape attempts and violent incidents that occurred within its walls. The jail has also been featured in numerous books, documentaries, and even paranormal investigations, involving the TV show Ghost Hunters, with many claiming to have encountered ghosts and other supernatural phenomena during their visits. Today, the Old Clay County Jail stands as a reminder of the harsh realities of the past and the importance of preserving our history. It serves as a cautionary tale of the dangers of unchecked power and the need for reform within our own criminal justice system. While the days of overcrowded cells and brutal punishments may be behind us, the lessons of the old jail still echo through the halls of justice today.
In conclusion, Florida’s Old Clay County Jail is a haunting reminder of a darker time in our nation's history and a testament to the harsh realities of the once barbaric criminal justice system in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its walls may no longer house inmates, but they still speak volumes about the need for compassion, reform, and justice within our modern society - all in effort to never let history repeat itself ever again.