HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
Nantucket's 1805 jail of oak timber and iron, in use until 1933 and now a museum where island lore places the spirits of former prisoners.
15R Vestal Street, Nantucket, MA 02554
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Operated by the Nantucket Historical Association; admission is by NHA ticket or pass. Seasonal opening — confirm hours on the NHA site before visiting.
Access
Limited Access
Small two-story historic jail building on Vestal Street; original heavy timber-and-iron construction with steep interior stairs.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1805 · Built 1805 of oak timber and iron; one of the oldest surviving jails of its type in the region · In continuous use as a jail until 1933 · Transferred to the Nantucket Historical Association in 1946 and preserved as a museum
Nantucket built its first jail on Vestal Street in 1696. By the early 19th century the town needed something sturdier, and in 1805 taxpayers voted to spend roughly $2,090, about the cost of building a whaleship at the time, on a new, far stronger penal facility on the same street. The result, dubbed the 'New Gaol,' was built of massive oak timbers bolted with iron, with iron rods across the windows and heavy iron-reinforced doors.
Despite that construction, the jail's records preserved by the Nantucket Historical Association describe a string of escapes over its long service. Accounts include a fifteen-year-old who is said to have crawled out through a chimney flue and a prisoner who received a key hauled up to a second-floor window by a block-and-tackle rig.
The jail held its last prisoner in 1933, ending well over a century of use. In 1946 the town closed the property and transferred it to the Nantucket Historical Association, which has maintained it since.
Today the Old Gaol stands largely as it did, one of the oldest surviving jail buildings of its kind in the region, and the NHA operates it as a seasonal museum within the island's National Historic Landmark district. Visitors can see the original cells and reinforcement and learn the histories of the people who passed through them.
Sources
The Old Gaol's reputation as a haunted site follows naturally from what it was: a small, heavily built jail that confined people for well over a century. Nantucket ghost lore and haunted-place listings describe the spirits of former prisoners said to linger in the cells, along with the general unease visitors report in a preserved jail building of this age.
These accounts are anecdotal. No documented incident or independently verified phenomenon underlies the claims, and the Nantucket Historical Association presents the site as a history museum rather than a paranormal attraction. The building's real interest lies in its survival, its construction, and the well-recorded stories of the prisoners and escapes that the NHA's archives preserve.
For visitors, the draw is the chance to stand inside an intact early-19th-century jail. The hauntings are folklore attached to a genuine and unusually well-documented landmark; anyone hoping for ghosts should temper expectations and come for the history.
Tour the 1805 jail, preserved largely as it stood, with its oak-timber walls, iron reinforcement, and cells. The Nantucket Historical Association presents the history of the jail's prisoners, keepers, and several documented escapes.
Some links on this page may earn HauntBound a small commission when you book, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial picks are independent. Full disclosure
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Free Guide
11 verified stops, rated for families, mapped in order. Free.
One email to confirm, then the guide link. Unsubscribe anytime.
Philadelphia, PA
Eastern State Penitentiary opened in 1829 in Philadelphia as the world's most expensive and closely studied prison, pioneering the Pennsylvania System of total solitary confinement intended to produce penitence through isolation and silence. The prison operated for 142 years, holding over 75,000 inmates including Al Capone, before closing in 1971. It has operated as a historic site since 1994.
Boise, ID
The Old Idaho State Penitentiary, also known as the Old Pen, opened in 1872 as the Idaho Territorial Prison on a site outside Boise. The facility operated for 101 years, holding more than 13,000 inmates including over 200 women and children as young as ten and eleven. The prison closed in 1973 following inmate riots and is now operated as a museum by the Idaho State Historical Society.
Council Bluffs, IA
The Pottawattamie Squirrel Cage Jail was built in 1885 in Council Bluffs, Iowa, as a rotary jail with a central hand-cranked carousel of cells. It is the only three-story rotary jail ever built and one of just three surviving examples in the United States. Now a museum, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2023.