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Reported phenomena — as catalogued
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Henry Flagler's 1891 Jail Where Eight Were Hanged
167 San Marco Ave, St. Augustine, FL 32084
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages (daytime); 18+ recommended for After Dark tours
Cost
$$
Check venue website for current pricing on daytime and evening tours
Access
Limited Access
Historic building interior with narrow corridors and cell blocks; limited accessibility
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1891 · Henry Flagler · Florida Penal History · Gilded Age Architecture · National Historic Register
The Old St. Johns County Jail at 167 San Marco Avenue opened in 1891, commissioned by Henry Flagler as part of his broader development of St. Augustine. Flagler funded the construction to replace an inadequate earlier facility, and the building was designed by the Pauly Jail Building Company — the same firm later engaged for Alcatraz.
The jail housed prisoners from 1891 until 1953, a 62-year span during which conditions were documented as exceptionally harsh. Prisoners were assigned one bucket per cell in lieu of plumbing. Diet was minimal, supplemented by whatever insects and animals inmates could catch while performing free labor on Flagler's agricultural operations. Eight executions by hanging were carried out on the grounds, with additional deaths from disease, violence, and inadequate care.
Sheriff Joe Perry, the longest-serving sheriff in the jail's history (1917–1946), was headquartered in the building's residential quarters — a two-story section where the sheriff's family also lived. Perry's reputation for rigid discipline extended to the cell blocks. By 1953, state inspectors found the facility sufficiently inadequate to order its closure.
In 1954, one year after closing, the building was converted to a tourist attraction. Today it operates as the Old Jail Museum, listed on both the Florida and National Historic Registers. The museum has been featured on the television programs Ghost Hunters and Kindred Spirits.
Sources
The Old Jail's most consistent paranormal reports center on three areas of the building: the former sheriff's quarters, the kitchen, and the solitary confinement cell.
Sheriff Joe Perry is the most frequently named entity. Staff and investigators report heavy footsteps on wooden floors during closed hours, doors creaking open without contact, the sound of keys rattling, and a disembodied voice described as issuing orders. An overwhelming sense of being watched has been reported in the sheriff's residential section, accompanied by sudden temperature drops.
The kitchen area generates its own category of reports. Investigative equipment including motion detectors has triggered with no one visible in the space. Accounts describe a shadowy figure near where the stove once stood, the clanging of pots and pans, and the smell of cooking emanating from a room that has not had a functioning kitchen in decades.
The solitary confinement cell is associated in some accounts with Sim Jackson, imprisoned for the murder of his wife. Reports from this area describe a shadowy figure approaching visitors, temperature drops, and physical sensations of being touched. A number of investigators have photographed what they describe as shadow figures on the cell walls.
The sound of a little girl has been reported in or near the sheriff's former living quarters — a persistent account across multiple investigations. The Old Jail has been featured on the television programs Ghost Hunters and Kindred Spirits, where investigators documented EVP and thermal anomalies on camera.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Costumed guides in period dress lead visitors through the women's cells, men's general population cells, and maximum-security ward of the 1891 jail where eight confirmed executions took place. The sheriff's quarters, kitchen, and solitary confinement cell where Sim Jackson was held after murdering his wife are all accessible during the standard tour.
A two-hour and thirty-minute evening investigation of the Old Jail with expert guides, instruction in paranormal investigation techniques, and both traditional and modern equipment provided. The kitchen's motion detectors, the solitary confinement cell where temperature drops have been documented, and Sheriff Joe Perry's former quarters are the primary investigation areas.
Tour an 1891 jail constructed for Henry Flagler by the P.J. Pauley Jail Company, the same builder responsible for Alcatraz. The jail served St. Johns County from 1891 to 1953. Interpretation covers Sheriff Charles Joseph Perry, the eight documented hangings carried out in the east yard, and the daily life of prisoners during the institution's six-decade operation.
Ghosts and Gravestones operates a 2.5-hour evening night tour of the Old Jail with restricted lighting in the cellblocks. The tour covers the documented hangings, prisoner deaths, and the visitor and staff reports collected over the institution's modern interpretive operation.
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This St. Augustine tour includes Old Jail Museum on its route.
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