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Photo, Print, Drawing Albemarle County Jail, 409 East High Street, Charlottesville, Independent City, VA Albemarle County Jail No. 5

[ Drawings from Survey HABS VA-1349  ]

More Resources

[ Data Pages from Survey HABS VA-1349  ]

About this Item

Title

  • Albemarle County Jail, 409 East High Street, Charlottesville, Independent City, VA

Other Title

  • Albemarle County Jail No. 5

Names

  • Historic American Buildings Survey, creator
  • Morris
  • Spooner, George Wallace
  • McCue, Samuel
  • Lay, K Edward, faculty sponsor
  • Langhorne, Cary D, faculty sponsor
  • University of Virginia School of Architecture, sponsor
  • Smith, Lisa Ann, delineator
  • Fay, Daniel Wilson, delineator

Created / Published

  • Documentation compiled after 1933

Headings

  • -  jails
  • -  stone buildings
  • -  brick buildings
  • -  county government
  • -  storage
  • -  hangings
  • -  Virginia -- Independent City -- Charlottesville

Latitude / Longitude

  • 38.03243,-78.47778

Notes

  • -  1996 Charles E. Peterson Prize, Honorable Mention
  • -  Significance: The Ablemarle County Jail, located one block north of Charlottesville's Courthouse Square, was constructed to replace an earlier jail building which was located on Courthouse Square directly west of the courthouse building. The two story stone building was constructed in 1876 with stones taken from the earlier jail. The brick annex and jail yard was added in 1880 and the jailer's residence added in 1886. Charlottesville architect George Wallace Spooner designed and built the stone jail and the jailer's house while the architect of the brick annex is unknown. The jail was the site where former Charlottesville mayor Samuel McCue was held in 1905 after being tried and convicted for the murder of his wife, as well as being the site of McCue's subsequent execution by hanging, the last legal hanging in the state of Virginia. This accretion of buildings stands as a complete picture of the evolution of penitentiary facilities from the middle part of the nineteenth century into the twentieth century. The Ablemarle County Sheriff's Department has owned and maintained the jail complex since its construction. This facility served as the only penitentiary in Albemarle County until 1974 when a new penitentiary was constructed south of Charlottesville. The jail complex has been used as a storage facility for the County since it closed in 1974.
  • -  Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N643
  • -  Survey number: HABS VA-1349
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1876 Initial Construction
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1880 Subsequent Work
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1886 Subsequent Work

Medium

  • Measured Drawing(s): 11

Call Number/Physical Location

  • HABS VA,2-CHAR,26-

Source Collection

  • Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)

Repository

Control Number

  • va1801

Rights Advisory

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not license or charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material.

Ultimately, it is the researcher's obligation to assess copyright or other use restrictions and obtain permission from third parties when necessary before publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the Library's collections.

For information about reproducing, publishing, and citing material from this collection, as well as access to the original items, see: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscape Survey (HABS/HAER/HALS) Collection - Rights and Restrictions Information

  • Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
  • Reproduction Number: ---
  • Call Number: HABS VA,2-CHAR,26-
  • Access Advisory: ---

Obtaining Copies

If Digital Images Are Displaying

You can download online images yourself. Alternatively, you can purchase copies of various types through Library of Congress Duplication Services.

HABS/HAER/HALS materials have generally been scanned at high resolution that is suitable for most publication purposes (see Digitizing the Collection for further details about the digital images).

  • Photographs--All photographs are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Call Number and Item Number that appear under the photograph in the multiple-image display (e.g., HAER, NY,52-BRIG,4-2).
    • If possible, include a printout of the photograph.
  • Drawings--All drawings are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Survey Number (e.g., HAER NY - 143) and Sheet Number (e.g., "Sheet 1 of 4"), which appear on the edge of the drawing. (NOTE: These numbers are visible in the Tiff "Reference Image" display.)
    • If possible, include a printout of the drawing.
  • Data Pages
    • Make note of the Call Number in the catalog record.

If Digital Images Are Not Displaying

In the rare case that a digital image for HABS/HAER/HALS documentation is not displaying online, select images for reproduction through one of these methods:

  • Visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room and request to view the group (general information about service in the reading room is available at: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/info/001_ref.html). It is best to contact reference staff in advance (see: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/address.html) to make sure the material is on site. OR
  • P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (many original items in the holdings are too old or fragile to make such copies, but generally HABS/HAER/HALS materials are in good enough condition to be placed on photocopy machines). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page OR
  • Hire a freelance researcher to do further selection for you (a list of researchers in available at: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/resource/013_pic.html).
  • You can purchase copies of various types, including quick copies, through Library of Congress Duplication Services (price lists, contact information, and order forms for Library of Congress Duplication Services are available on the Duplication Services Web site):
    • Make note of the Call Number listed above.
    • Look at the Medium field above. If it lists more than one item:
      • The entire group can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.
      • All the items in a particular medium (e.g., all drawings, all photographs) can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.

Access to Originals

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

  1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

    • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.
      As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)
    • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.
  2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

    • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.
    • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.
  3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, Morris, George Wallace Spooner, Samuel McCue, K Edward Lay, Cary D Langhorne, Sponsor University Of Virginia School Of Architecture, Lisa Ann Smith, and Daniel Wilson Fay. Albemarle County Jail, 409 East High Street, Charlottesville, Independent City, VA. Independent City Virginia Charlottesville, 1933. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/va1801/.

APA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, C., Morris, Spooner, G. W., McCue, S., Lay, K. E., Langhorne, C. D. [...] Fay, D. W. (1933) Albemarle County Jail, 409 East High Street, Charlottesville, Independent City, VA. Independent City Virginia Charlottesville, 1933. Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/va1801/.

MLA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, et al. Albemarle County Jail, 409 East High Street, Charlottesville, Independent City, VA. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/va1801/>.