The Old Bradford County Jail

The old jail stands in the center of Towanda’s Historic District. Avery Frank, an architect and contractor from Montrose, designed and built it with a plan that included a stone dwelling for the sheriff and his family, a three-story cell block, and a prison yard enclosed by a 20-foot stone wall, all built with locally quarried stone. The jail was occupied in 1873 and was praised for its modern design, but by 1913 it was considered seriously outdated. A complete modernization took place in 1949-50, including removal of the ventilation tower. The jail closed in 1991, and county commissioners transferred the property to Bradford County Historical Society in 1998. Renovation activity began in 1999 to convert the jail into a museum, research library and early records archive.

Towanda, Pennsylvania · United States