HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
A Newport inn on the site of the colonial county jail, where guests report a uniformed jailer and a basement prisoner
13 Marlborough Street, Newport, RI 02840
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Room rates vary by season; book directly through the inn's site.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Renovated Federal-style inn with multiple floors and a basement
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1772 · Site of the colonial Newport County Jail · Later Newport police headquarters · Adaptive reuse of a Federal-era civic building
The corner of Marlborough Street between Thames and Farrell streets has held a jail since 1680. The structure standing today was built for the city in 1772 by George Lawton and Oliver Ring Warner, replacing the earlier colonial jail on the same ground. In the colonial and Revolutionary periods the jail held a range of prisoners, and Newport ghost-tour lore connects the site to loyalists and to pirates of the era, though specific named inmates are difficult to verify in primary records.
In the late nineteenth century the architect Dudley Newton enlarged and renovated the building, which then served as Newport's police headquarters and housed related departments. It continued in that role until a new police headquarters opened on Broadway in 1986.
After the building left municipal use it was converted into the Jailhouse Inn, a Federal-style hotel that keeps the jail theme in its branding and decor. The inn operates today at 13 Marlborough Street in Newport's historic district, a short walk from the harbor.
Sources
The inn's haunted reputation grows directly from its century of use as a jail and police station. The most repeated account describes a uniformed jailer seen near the front desk, a figure consistent with the building's long custodial history. The other recurring figure is a shadowy prisoner in the basement, tied in local tellings to a man said to have died in his cell during the 1800s.
Guest reports describe cool gusts of air in rooms with no open windows on hot days, and whispering voices with no apparent source. The third floor is named most often in these accounts, and the inn leans into the stories in its own materials.
These reports are anecdotal, drawn from guests, staff, and Newport ghost-tour coverage rather than a formal investigation record. The named identities behind the jailer and prisoner figures are not established in primary sources; they are the interpretations visitors and guides have layered onto a building whose purpose was confinement. Travelers curious about the activity can simply book a room, as no special access or organized hunt is required.
Notable Entities
Book a room at the inn, built on the site of the colonial Newport County Jail. Guest accounts of paranormal activity cluster on the upper floors and in the basement. This is a standard hotel stay, not an organized investigation.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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