Alternatives to demolishing old Essex Co. Jail being considered

GEORGE EARL, For the News
ELIZABETHTOWN — Major Richard C. Cutting, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office Jail Administrator, filled the doorway of the old Essex County Jail as he entered for what he said seemed like “the first time in a long time.”

The exact date the old jail was built is not known, but the Essex County Historical Society said the earliest date they have is 1868. The now-abandoned structure, with a functional existence that spanned a period from the Civil War to the nation’s present war in Iraq, is subject to many different visions for the future. Until recently the most prominent had been demolition to create a parking lot and possibly future office space for the county, but now some creative alternatives are being considered.

Cutting, who was also the former jail administrator, provided a walking tour of the penal history of Essex County, illuminating different parts of the riveted steel interior, with stories about prison breaks and daily life, as well as the last county hanging and even the murder of a prison guard in the 1940s.

“He fell here,” Cutting said, as he extended his arms to trace the area of the fallen officer. The prisoner and an accomplice escaped, but were soon tracked down.

“They’re now serving 50-to-life,” Cutting said.

The last county hanging occurred in front of the old Essex County Courthouse, according to Cutting. The noose and skull of “Henry,” as he is affectionately called at the Essex County Historical Society in Elizabethtown, is on display during regular museum hours.

Walking the halls of the old jail creates a little nostalgia for the major, but he said that only happens once in a while.

Despite others’ hesitancy, the Essex County Board of Supervisors had been unanimously convinced that the old jail was destined to come down. The board of supervisors voted to borrow $500,000 for that purpose through the issuance of serial bonds.

The demolition plan turned out to be premature as it drew criticism from Adirondack Architectural Heritage, an architectural preservation group based in Keeseville, that has urged the county in recent weeks to consider re-use of the building. AARCH Executive Director Steve Englehart said that no independent engineers or architects were hired to do a basic reuse analysis.

Soon afterward, the board of supervisors reversed its proclamation of doom, instead seeing new hope in the possibilities for the jail’s preservation. The bond issuance was tabled and the demolition plan put on hold during last week’s Essex County Board of Supervisors meeting, and by Monday many supervisors had stars in their eyes.

“It is my hope that the space committee can find a way to reuse the jail. It might even provide a revenue source for the county; maybe a movie set,” Moriah Town Supervisor Thomas Scozzafava said Monday.

The film “Mineville” is set to start filming in Essex County in September, according to Scozzafava, and the producers have asked for permission to film inside the old jail.

Former security guards said they had seen the potential for an old movie set for some time.

“There was something about the sound of the old doors when they closed and locked, there was no way around it; it was jail. It’s not like the new jail,” said Henry Hommes, the Essex County Sheriff.

“It would be great to show people, and I’ve heard that it would make a great movie set,” Hommes said.

Bill Garrison, the town justice of Elizabethtown, said he has little sentiment for collecting old buildings, but tempered his stance as he reflected on the building he worked in as a guard in the 1960s and 70s.

“The sheriff’s wife was the matron; she did all the cooking for the prisoners. Their favorite meal was fried bologna; I could never understand why they liked it so much.”