Built between 1809 and 1811 after authorization in 1807, the Wiscasset jail became one of Maine’s oldest surviving jail buildings and answered Lincoln County’s need for a permanent prison. From 1820 to 1824, after Maine achieved statehood, it briefly served as the state’s first penitentiary. The complex remained an active jail until 1953 and was acquired by the Lincoln County Historical Society the next year. Its notably intact design pairs a severe three-story granite cell block, including debtor quarters and a solitary cell without windows, with a Federal-style keeper’s residence whose present brick form dates to 1837.