Title
Tuscaloosa County Courthouse and Jail, circa 1945
Subject
Courthouses
Jails
Description
This is the old Tuscaloosa County Courthouse and Jail, which was located on the northwest corner of Seventh Street and Lurleen Wallace Blvd. at the site of the current county courthouse.
E. Spinks of Birmingham prepared the plans for the courthouse and supervised the work. The contract for construction was awarded to Carrigan and Lynn of Birmingham for $90,000. On August 8, 1908 the courthouse was completed.
On October 8, 1909, a contract for building a jail was signed with F.M. Dotson and Company for $30,000. The jail had 3 stories and 2 entrances. The eastern entrance opened into the "booking office." The rest of the first floor was divided into living quarters for the jailer and his family and a kitchen. On the second floor there was a steel cage for condemned prisoners. In the ceiling there was an iron ring to which the executioner's rope was tied. The condemned was dropped through a trap door. Only 2 executions took place in this jail.
The building was razed in 1962 and the current courthouse opened in 1964.
Information from Matthew W. Clinton's Tuscaloosa County History from the Dedication brochure for the Tuscaloosa County Courthouse, 1964.
E. Spinks of Birmingham prepared the plans for the courthouse and supervised the work. The contract for construction was awarded to Carrigan and Lynn of Birmingham for $90,000. On August 8, 1908 the courthouse was completed.
On October 8, 1909, a contract for building a jail was signed with F.M. Dotson and Company for $30,000. The jail had 3 stories and 2 entrances. The eastern entrance opened into the "booking office." The rest of the first floor was divided into living quarters for the jailer and his family and a kitchen. On the second floor there was a steel cage for condemned prisoners. In the ceiling there was an iron ring to which the executioner's rope was tied. The condemned was dropped through a trap door. Only 2 executions took place in this jail.
The building was razed in 1962 and the current courthouse opened in 1964.
Information from Matthew W. Clinton's Tuscaloosa County History from the Dedication brochure for the Tuscaloosa County Courthouse, 1964.
Source
Personal Collection of Jason Townsend
Date
Circa 1945
Contributor
Betty Slowe (Description)
Elizabeth Bradt (Description)
Type
Postcard
Identifier
191
Coverage
Tuscaloosa (AL)