An 1812 county jail, now a tavern where diners eat beside the original cells
7 North Street, Litchfield, CT 06759
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Full-service tavern with craft beer and New American menu; standard restaurant pricing. Walk-ins and reservations; the dining rooms incorporate the building's original jail cells.
Access
Limited Access
Three-story historic jail building with stairs; bar wraps original cell blocks
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1812 · 1812 Litchfield County Jail · One of Litchfield's Oldest Public Buildings · Preserved Cell Blocks in Adaptive Reuse
The Litchfield County Jail was built in 1812 on North Street, on the edge of the historic Litchfield Green. Accounts of its origins note that it was put up to hold prisoners during the War of 1812 era, and it went on to serve as the county's working jail for the better part of two centuries. A three-story cell wing was added in the 1840s, and that block now forms the core of the building's interior.
The jail operated until 1992. After it closed, the building was used in the corrections system, including a stint connected to substance-abuse and halfway-house programming, before being decommissioned for that purpose as well in the late 2000s.
The property was then renovated into the Market Place Tavern, a New American restaurant that deliberately kept the building's penal character. Iron-barred windows, exposed brick, and the original holding cells were preserved, and the three-story bar wraps the old cell blocks so that diners eat alongside them.
The building is one of the oldest public structures in Litchfield, a town whose central green and 18th- and 19th-century architecture make it a designated historic district. The tavern operates today as both a restaurant and an unusual piece of preserved county-corrections history.
Sources
The haunting attached to the old Litchfield County Jail is a quiet, word-of-mouth one, kept mostly among former corrections employees and the tavern's staff. The most-repeated reports are consistent: heavy boots heard walking up from behind when no one is there, cell doors that close on their own, unexplained voices, and a strong sense of being followed. Regional accounts say that maintenance and corrections workers, once their rounds were done, made a point of leaving quickly because of the feeling of being watched.
The building's paranormal reputation drew the attention of Connecticut paranormal researcher John Zaffis, known from the television series Haunted Collector, who according to regional reporting looked into the property as a possible site for his collection of haunted objects. NBC Connecticut featured the former jail in its coverage of the state's haunted legends.
The tavern leans into the building's history without turning the reports into a marketed attraction; the cell blocks are kept as dining decor and conversation pieces. The phenomena described are atmospheric rather than dramatic, and they surface in staff stories and local press rather than in formal investigation results.
Media Appearances
Eat and drink in the converted 1812 county jail on the Litchfield Green. The tavern kept the original cell blocks: iron-barred windows, exposed brick, and cells that frame the three-story bar and overlook the dining tables. Open for lunch and dinner; the patio overlooks the Green.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
East Granby, CT
Old New-Gate Prison occupies a copper mine on the western slope of Talcott Mountain in East Granby, Connecticut. The mine opened in 1707, was converted into Connecticut's first state prison in 1773, held British loyalists during the Revolutionary War, and operated as a state penitentiary until 1827. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1972, it is now a Connecticut state museum.
Louisville, KY
The Old Jefferson County Jail at 514 West Liberty Street was built in 1905 in the Chicago architectural style by D.X. Murphy & Bros. It replaced an 1844 jail on Jefferson Street that had become structurally derelict. The building incarcerated prisoners until the 1980s, was converted to an office complex in 1983, and today houses the Commonwealth's Attorney, the Circuit Court Clerk, and the Archives and Records Department.
Paulding, OH
The Old Paulding County Jail in Paulding, Ohio was contracted in 1874 and completed in 1876 at a cost of $25,000. The basement is limestone with two upper stories of brick and stone trimmings. The jail combined cells with a sheriff's residence, and Paulding County sheriffs and their families lived in the building until 1977. The jail operated until 2006 and was used as county storage from 2006 to 2013.