Global InformationList of jail and prison museums information
 | This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2008) |
Museums have been created from many former jails and prisons.
Some old jails converted into museums are listed under the original name of the jail, especially if listed on the US National Register of Historic Places. For example, see Old St. Johns County Jail in St Augustine, Florida.
Museums with a main purpose not associated with the jail or prison[What is the difference between a jail (or gaol) and a prison?] in which they are located are listed separately, below the main list.
| Name | Location | State/Province | Country | Jail/ Prison |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Gaol | Adelaide | South Australia | Australia | Prison | |
| Seodaemun Prison | Seoul | Seoul Capital Area | South Korea | Prison | |
| 1811 Lincoln County Museum & Old Jail | Wiscasset | Maine | United States | Jail | |
| Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary | Petros | Tennessee | United States | State Prison | |
| Abashiri Prison Museum | Abashiri | Hokkaido | Japan | Prison | The only prison museum in Japan.[1] |
| Alcatraz Island | San Francisco Bay Area | California | United States | Prison | |
| Ancienne Prison de Trois-Rivières | Trois-Rivières | Quebec | Canada | Prison | |
| Beaumaris Gaol | Beaumaris | Anglesey, Wales | United Kingdom | Jail | |
| Bodmin Gaol | Bodmin | Cornwall | United Kingdom | Jail | http://www.bodminjail.org/ |
| Buckingham Old Gaol | Buckingham | Buckinghamshire | United Kingdom | Jail | Museum of Buckingham and rural life as well as the building as a prison |
| Burlington County Prison | Mount Holly | New Jersey | United States | Prison | |
| Carthage Jail | Carthage | Illinois | United States | Jail | location of the death of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement |
| Cell Block 7 Prison Museum, State Prison of Southern Michigan | Jackson, Michigan | Michigan | United States | Prison | Closed as of December 2019. |
| Central Penitentiary | San José | San José Province | Costa Rica | Prison | |
| Cellular Jail | Port Blair | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | India | Prison | Many Indian Independence activists were kept in this prison by the British during the British Raj in India. |
| Clink, The | London | London Borough of Southwark | United Kingdom | Prison | |
| Cork City Gaol | Cork | County Cork | Republic of Ireland | Prison | |
| Crumlin Road (HM Prison) | Belfast | Northern Ireland | United Kingdom | Prison | |
| Daviess County Rotary Jail and Sheriff's Residence | Gallatin | Missouri | United States | Jail | Rotary Jail |
| Eastern State Penitentiary | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | United States | Prison | |
| Eden Camp Museum | Malton | North Yorkshire | United Kingdom | Prison | |
| Ely Museum | Ely | Cambridgeshire | United Kingdom | Jail | Official website |
| Fremantle Prison | Fremantle | Western Australia | Australia | Prison | |
| Galleries of Justice | Nottingham | Nottinghamshire | United Kingdom | Jail and Prison | |
| Gevangenpoort | The Hague | South Holland | Netherlands | Prison | |
| Gloucester Prison | Gloucester | Gloucestershire | United Kingdom | Prison | |
| Hexham Old Gaol | Hexham | Northumberland | United Kingdom | Prison | |
| Historic Cornwall Jail | Cornwall | Ontario | Canada | Jail | |
| Hong Kong Correctional Services Museum | Southern District | Stanley | Hong Kong | Prison | Official webpage The museum comprises ten galleries with one mock gallows and two mock cells. |
| Horsens Statsfængsel (Horsens Prison Museum) | Horsens | Region Midtjylland | Denmark | Prison | Official website |
| Inveraray Jail | Inveraray | Argyll, Scotland | United Kingdom | ||
| Jail Museum (Truckee, California) | Truckee | California | United States | Jail | |
| Kansas Regional Prisons Museum | Lansing | Kansas | United States | Prison | [1] The Lansing Historical Museum is home to hundreds of artifacts and documents relating to the Kansas State Penitentiary/Lansing Correctional Facility. |
| Kilmainham Gaol | Kilmainham | Dublin | Ireland | Prison | |
| Kingston Penitentiary | Kingston | Ontario | Canada | Prison | Constructed 1833–1835, Kingston Penitentiary is the oldest standing prison dating to pre-confederation in Canada. After closing in 2013, the institution began operating tours seasonally from May–October, offering guided tours with online ticketing and Tour Guides as well as retired Correctional Staff on site to provide information to guests. |
| Cobourg Jail | Cobourg | Ontario | Canada | Jail | Part of the jail is incorporated into the King George Inn, which includes a museum and artifacts from its time as a working jail.[2] |
| Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery | Beloozero | Vologda Oblast | Russia | Prison | |
| Kosciusko County Jail Museum | Warsaw | Indiana | United States | Jail | |
| Liberty Jail | Liberty | Missouri | United States | Jail | Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and associates were imprisoned there in 1838–1839 during the 1838 Mormon War. |
| Littledean Jail | Gloucestershire | United Kingdom | Jail | http://www.littledeanjail.com | |
| L'Orignal Old Jail | Orignal | Ontario | Canada | Jail | |
| Louisiana State Penitentiary | Angola | Louisiana | United States | Prison | "Opening in 1997, the Museum at the Louisiana State Penitentiary was established to preserve the long and storied history of crime, punishment, rehabilitation, criminal justice, and reform in Louisiana."[3]
http://angolamuseum.org/ The Louisiana State Penitentiary also has an annual Prison Rodeo, which first began in 1965. The first public Angola Prison Rodeo was in 1967.[4] |
| Lubyanka (KGB) | Moscow | Russia | Prison | On Lubyanka Square | |
| Ludwigsburg Prison Museum | Ludwigsburg | Baden-Württemberg | Germany | Prison | |
| Malaysia Prison Museum | Malacca City | Malacca | Malaysia | Prison | |
| Memorial and Education Centre Andreasstrasse | Erfurt | Thuringia | Germany | Prison | Former Stasi prison, used for holding political prisoners. |
| Mills County Old Jail Museum | Goldwaite | Texas | United States | Jail | |
| Missouri State Penitentiary | Jefferson City | Missouri | United States | Prison | |
| Montgomery County Jail and Sheriff's Residence | Crawfordsville | Indiana | United States | Jail | Rotary Jail |
| Moore County Old Jail Museum | Lynchburg | Tennessee | United States | Jail | |
| Museu Penitenciário do Estado do Rio de Janeiro | Rio de Janeiro | Rio de Janeiro | Brazil | Prison | |
| Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec | Quebec City | Quebec | Canada | Prison | Mostly an art museum |
| Museo de Tradiciones y Leyendas | León | León Department | Nicaragua | Jail | |
| Museo del Presidio de Ushuaia | Ushuaia | Tierra del Fuego | Argentina | Prison | http://museomaritimo.com/ |
| Nationaal Gevangenismuseum | Veenhuizen | Drenthe | Netherlands | Prison | National Dutch prison museum |
| Newcastle Gaol Museum | Toodyay | Western Australia | Australia | ||
| Norwegian POW Museum | Ostrzeszów | Greater Poland Voivodeship, also known as Wielkopolska Province | Poland | Prison | World War II POW camp |
| Ohio State Reformatory | Mansfield | Ohio | United States | Prison | |
| Old Courthouse & Old Jailhouse Museums | West Bend, Wisconsin | Wisconsin | United States | Jail | Operated by Washington County Historical Society, Inc. |
| Old Franklin County Jail in the former Franklin County Jail | Chambersburg | Pennsylvania | United States | Jail | |
| Hamilton County Historical Museum in the Old Hamilton County Jail |
Jasper | Florida | United States | Jail | Web page |
| Old Tolland County Jail and Museum | Tolland | Connecticut | United States | Jail | |
| Old City Jail (Mount Dora, Florida) | Mount Dora | Florida | United States | Jail | Currently houses the Royellou Museum. |
| Old Fauquier County Jail | Warrenton | Virginia | United States | Jail | |
| Old Idaho State Penitentiary | Boise | Idaho | United States | Prison | |
| 1859 Jail and Museum | Independence | Missouri | United States | Jail | Website |
| Olde Gaol Museum | Lindsay | Ontario | Canada | Jail | Website |
| Old Jail Museum (Albion, Indiana) | Albion | Indiana | United States | Jail | |
| Old Jail Museum (Allegan, Michigan) | Allegan | Michigan | United States | Jail | |
| Old Jail Museum (Barnesville, Georgia) | Barnesville | Georgia | United States | Jail | |
| Old Jail Museum (Canton, Mississippi) | Canton | Mississippi | United States | Jail | |
| Old Jail Museum (Conyers, Georgia) in the former Rockdale County Jail | Conyers | Georgia | United States | Jail | |
| Old Jail Museum (Crawfordsville, Indiana) | Crawfordsville | Indiana | United States | Jail | |
| Old Jail Museum (Dubuque, Indiana) in the former Dubuque County Jail | Dubuque | Iowa | United States | Jail | |
| Old Jail Museum (Gonzales, Texas) | Gonzales | Texas | United States | Jail | |
| Old Jail Museum (Goochland, Virginia) | Goochland | Virginia | United States | Jail | |
| Old Jail Museum (Greenwood, Arkansas) | Greenwood | Arkansas | United States | Jail | |
| Old Jail Museum (Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania) | Jim Thorpe | Pennsylvania | United States | Jail | |
| Old Jail Museum (Iola, Kansas) | Iola | Kansas | United States | Jail | information |
| Old Jail Museum (Knoxville, Georgia) | Knoxville | Georgia | United States | Jail | |
| Old Jail Museum (Lawrenceburg, Tennessee) | Lawrenceburg | Tennessee | United States | Jail | |
| Old Jail Museum (Smethport, Pennsylvania) | Smethport | Pennsylvania | United States | Jail | |
| Old Jail Museum (Silverton, Texas) | Silverton | Texas | United States | Jail | |
| Old Jail Museum (St. Augustine, Florida) in the Old St. Johns County Jail | St. Augustine | Florida | United States | Jail | |
| Old Jail Museum (Taylorsville, North Carolina) | Taylorsville | North Carolina | United States | Jail | |
| Old Jail Museum (Thompson Falls, Montana) | Thompson | Montana | United States | Jail | |
| Old Jail Museum (Valparaiso, Indiana) | Valparaiso | Indiana | United States | Jail | |
| Old Jail Museum (Winchester, Tennessee) | Winchester | Tennessee | United States | Jail | |
| Old Joliet Prison | Joliet | Illinois | United States | Prison | |
| Old Melbourne Jail | Melbourne | Victoria | Australia | Prison | |
| Old Newgate Prison | East Granby | Connecticut | United States | Prison | Former mine/Colonial prison; also spelled "Old New-Gate Prison" |
| Old Prison Museum (Deer Lodge, Montana) | Deer Lodge | Montana | United States | Prison | |
| Old Wilkes Jail (Wilkesboro, North Carolina) | Wilkesboro | North Carolina | United States | Jail | Tom Dooley of the song "Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley" was held here before his trial. |
| Patarei Prison | Tallinn | Harju County | Estonia | Prison | Official webpage |
| Peter and Paul Fortress | St. Petersburg | St. Petersburg | Russia | Prison | |
| Pied-du-Courant Prison | Montreal | Quebec | Canada | Prison | |
| Pottawattamie County Jail | Council Bluffs | Iowa | United States | Jail | Rotary Jail |
| Presidio Modelo | Nueva Gerona | Isla de la Juventud | Cuba | Prison | |
| Qasr Prison (Qasr museum-Qarden) | Tehran | Tehran | Iran | Prison | www |
| Richard III Museum | York | North Yorkshire | United Kingdom | Prison | Primarily about Richard III, the museum also has a working portcullis, a medieval execution chamber, and a small prison cell |
| Robben Island Museum | Robben Island | Western Cape | South Africa | Prison | |
| Sabine County Jail Museum and Vergie Speights Memorial Library | Hemphill | Texas | United States | Jail | |
| San Jacinto County Jail | Coldspring | Texas | United States | Jail | |
| Shepton Mallet Prison | Shepton Mallet | Somerset | United Kingdom | Prison | |
| Shrewsbury Prison | Shrewsbury | Shropshire | United Kingdom | Prison | |
| Solovetsky Monastery | Solovetsky Islands | Russia | |||
| Texas Prison Museum | Huntsville | Texas | United States | Prison | |
| Anti-sabotage joint committee Prison (Ebrat Museum of Iran) | Tehran | Tehran | Iran | Prison | ebratmuseum |
| Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum | Phnom Penh | Cambodia | Prison | ||
| Ulucanlar Prison Museum | Altındağ | Ankara | Turkey | Prison | www |
| West Virginia Penitentiary | Moundsville | West Virginia | United States | Prison | www |
| Wicklow Gaol | Wicklow | County Wicklow | Republic of Ireland | Prison | Irish National Monument |
| Wilson County Jailhouse Museum | Floresville | Texas | United States | Jail | |
| Wyoming Frontier Prison (Rawlins, Wyoming) | Rawlins | Wyoming | United States | Prison | |
| Wyoming Territorial Prison (Laramie, Wyoming) | Laramie | Wyoming | United States | Prison | www |
| Yuma Territorial Prison | Yuma | Arizona | United States | Prison |
- ^ "Abashiri astounds with its ice and convict connections". The Japan Times. 2013-03-24. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
- ^ Ron Brown (2006). Behind Bars: Inside Ontario's Heritage Gaols. Dundurn. p. 25. ISBN 9781459711143.
- ^ "Our Foundation". Louisiana Prison Museum & Cultural Center. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
- ^ "Prison Rodeo". Louisiana Prison Museum & Cultural Center. Retrieved 2023-12-27.