History
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The county’s first permanent jail was built on this sight [sic] in 1802. A new jail was constructed in 1856 in combination with the residential portion. The growing population soon led the jail to be overcrowded and escapes were very common. Dangerous prisoners were kept in shackles to insure their captivity. In 1889 the community voted to repair the old jail rather than build an entirely new one. The facility contained a double gallows thought to have been the only one in the state, and it was used to execute two sets of brothers, including the Nicely brothers, whose case was highly publicized at that time.
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Somerset, Pennsylvania · United States
