Tour Historic Honesdale   16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |                                                 © 2003 John Van Horn 22. OLD STONE JAIL A monument to the stonemason’s art, the old stone jail lives to remind us of the deterrent a ”jailhouse” used to be. This jail, built in 1859 was in continuous use until 1936. Unfortunately, the iron doors were given up for scrap during the patriotic fervor of World War II, but the unusual stonework is still intact. The front two cells were for trustees, separated from the others by an iron grate in the hall. The alumni who remember the jail when it was in operation tell of the dampness and bitter cold of the winter months. A pot-bellied stove in the hall served for the only heat in the building. Prisoners were known to have built fires in their cells to keep warm. Meals were furnished by the sheriff and brought over from his house next door. Comfort, such as it was, consisted of an iron bunk, a chair, and sometimes a small table. Toilets were added later to each cell, but central heat never became a reality.
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