Kentucky's first jail once held America's first serial killers — and investigators say someone still walks the replica grounds
125 S 2nd Street, Danville, KY 40422
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Self-guided grounds access free year-round; group tours $2 students / $3 adults (10+ person groups, booking required)
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved park grounds with replica log structures
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1937 · Site of Ten Kentucky Constitutional Conventions (1785-1792) · First U.S. Post Office West of the Allegheny Mountains · Incarceration Site of the Harpe Brothers Serial Killers · Kentucky's First Courthouse Location
Danville's Constitution Square occupies the ground where Kentucky's legal and political identity was forged. The Virginia General Assembly established the Judicial District of Kentucky in 1783, and when the Supreme Court for the district moved to what was then called Crow's Station, it ordered construction of a courthouse and jail on the public square. Between 1785 and 1792, ten constitutional conventions met in that courthouse — deliberations that produced Kentucky's first state constitution when it entered the Union in 1792.
The original jail built on the square held prisoners awaiting trial before the frontier court. Among those incarcerated there were Micajah 'Big' Harpe and Wiley 'Little' Harpe — brothers who had terrorized settlers across Kentucky, Tennessee, and Illinois beginning in 1797. Sometimes described as America's first documented serial killers, the pair confessed to 39 murders before their capture. Held in the Danville jail while awaiting execution, they escaped and resumed killing, eventually meeting violent ends: Micajah was beheaded by a pursuing posse in 1799 after capture; Wiley was later tried and hanged.
The square fell into decline through the 19th century. In October 1937, Danville resident Emma Weisiger donated the land to Kentucky in memory of her brother, and the state undertook construction of authentic replicas of the original structures using period materials. The replica courthouse was completed in 1942 and houses personal items belonging to Kentucky's first governor, Isaac Shelby. In 2012, Boyle County assumed management of the site from the state.
Grayson's Tavern on the grounds is an authentic surviving structure from the era — the asymmetrical, ell-shaped building where the Danville Political Club held meetings, and where many of Kentucky's early political figures gathered to debate policy. The park today hosts farmers' markets and concerts alongside its preserved history.
Sources
The 859 Paranormal Research group has documented the most detailed investigation of Constitution Square on record. Their 2023 session, arranged through the local visitors bureau, focused on two buildings: Grayson's Tavern and the replica jail associated with the Harpe Brothers.
In Grayson's Tavern, investigators set up infrared cameras and motion-activated LED cat balls in each room. Before leaving the tavern, a single cat ball in an unoccupied room began lighting up persistently — staying lit as if continuously triggered, then going dark. Investigators attempted to reproduce the activation by stomping and jarring the table the ball rested on: it would not trigger. The ball passed a battery check and functioned normally when tested directly. No mechanical explanation was confirmed.
In the replica jail, the team conducted radio-wave sweep sessions. At one point, an investigator asked a question and recorded what she interpreted as an audible response — 'help me' followed shortly by 'not sure.' The session produced additional voice-box responses that the team described as showing intelligent pattern, though the recordings fell short of conclusive evidence.
Local tradition has long connected the site's activity to the Harpe Brothers, whose documented crimes make them among the most notorious figures in early American frontier history. Whether the jail's replica structure could carry any residual connection to the originals who occupied the now-demolished original building is a question the investigators left open.
Notable Entities
Walk the open-air park and replica 18th-century buildings including the jail that once held the Harpe Brothers, Grayson's Tavern, the courthouse, and the original U.S. post office. A free online guide-by-cell audio tour is available.
Led tours for groups of 10 or more covering the site's constitutional history and darker episodes. Contact McDowell House Museum to arrange.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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