Resource Name: Fulton County Jail c 1772 also known as Tryon County Jail and Fort Johnstown in Johnstown, NY. Resource Location: South Perry and Prospect Streets in Johnstown, NY or 1 East Montgomery Street Johnstown, NY 12095
Brief Description of Resource: National Register of Historic Places # 81000404 added in 1981 includes a nearly 250 year old stone constructed Jail placed in 1772 upon the f
orming of Tryon County west of the Hudson River in Upstate, NY. The jail has documented ties to key figures in American history including Sir William Johnson, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and General Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (Revolutionary War / Battle of Johnstown). It was originally built upon the highest point in Johnstown for defense purposes and includes walls that are four-feet in thickness. The jail's north yard included an 1846 public ex*****on that was the most sensational story of the decade with the exception of the Mexican War, and was the talk of the State for many years because of the feeling against executing a woman according to an article by The Times Union Albany, NY May 7, 1927. The jail was closed around 1980. The structure remains owned by the County of Fulton. Though it is older than the United States the facility remains closed to the public with each of the jail cells as well as a solitary confinement area presently being used to store cardboard boxes containing county personnel department paperwork. Any decision to open the jail for public tourism would have to be reached by the Fulton County Board of Supervisors:
223 West Main Street
Johnstown, NY 12095
Phone (518)736-5540
Fax: (518)762-0224
[email protected]
The page Historic Fulton County Jail is independently maintained.
