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History – The Old Stone Jail in Franklin, Kentucky is thought by historians to actually be the 4th jail in Simpson County. Two previous jails are thought to have been located on the court house square but the destruction of records in the 1882 court house fire makes it impossible to confirm.
From 1860 through 1879 the third jail was actually part of what is now the Jailer's Residence. It is believed that prisoners were housed in a cell that was attached to the back of the residence and has been long since removed, and the two north side rooms. Prisoner graffiti from the Civil War period has been preserved on the second floor. Construction on the Old Stone jail was completed in 1879 and it was in operation for over a century before closing its doors in 1986. Claims - During its long history, there have been several confirmed suicides. It is thought that these are the spirits that continue to roam the jail. Visitors to the jail report hearing unidentified voices and footsteps as well as seeing movement in the cell areas. Investigation – We investigated the Old Stone jail on in August, 2022. The jail itself is very small with only six cells on each floor. The jailer’s residence is much larger as would be expected. With the cell areas being identified as potential hot spots, we set up static night vision cameras in both the first and second floor cell hallways as well as several cameras throughout the jailer’s residence. |
We were also given permission to investigate the Simpson County Historical Society building which is directly across the street from the jail. This building was built between 1909 and 1918 and has a long history of housing various businesses including The Enterprise Machine and Garage Company, The Enterprise Tobacco Warehouse and the Sloan Wholesale Grocery Company. After 1934, it would be used as a garment manufacturing company and Crabtree Furniture. We were unable to use our wired static cameras due to this building being across the street from our command center, however, we did use a variety of other recording devices including handheld night vision cameras, trail cams and digital recorders.
While nothing unusual was captured on video at either location, we were pleasantly surprised that the spirits at the jail were very willing to speak and we were not disappointed at the Historical society, either.
While we haven’t been able to identify the spirits who roam the Old Stone Jail and the Simpson County Historical Society, they are most definitely making their presence known.
While nothing unusual was captured on video at either location, we were pleasantly surprised that the spirits at the jail were very willing to speak and we were not disappointed at the Historical society, either.
While we haven’t been able to identify the spirits who roam the Old Stone Jail and the Simpson County Historical Society, they are most definitely making their presence known.