The Old Hancock County Sheriff’s Home and Jail: Projects

The Ellsworth Historical Society’s goal is to rehabilitate this unique and largely unchanged building and open it to the public with exhibits about Hancock County law enforcement history; reasons for and conditions of incarceration; sheriffs’ family life in relation to the sheriff’s role with prisoners; and changing regulations about crimes and justice in rural Maine. This rehabilitation is augmented by research into printed records and by collecting oral histories to provide the human perspective on the lives lived at or in the County Jail.

Old Jail Rehabilitation Projects Timeline

2021–2023 — Historic Preservation Planning Project

  •  Community members rally around the endangered building.

  •  Old Jail Preservation Committee of the Ellsworth Historical Society formed.

  •  Architectural assessment/planning.

  •  Major fundraising and grant strategy begins.

  • ‍ ‍Grants Received: Maine Development Foundation’s Maine Downtown Center, in partnership with the Maine Historic Preservation Commission (ReVitalizeME Gen2), Maine Community Foundation, 1772 Foundation, and National Society Daughters of the American Revolution

2024–2025 — Phase I: Masonry Rehabilitation Project

  • Historic masonry rehabilitation plans and specifications written.

  • Haskell & Hall repointed all four walls of the brick exterior using appropriate historic methods according to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.

  • The Old Hancock County Jail was removed from Maine Preservation’s Most Endangered Structures List after 16 years.

  • Grants Received:‍ ‍Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust, Congressionally Designated Funds — T-HUD, 1772 Foundation, Maine Development Foundation’s Maine Downtown Center ReVitalizeME Gen2 grant, in partnership with the Maine Historic Preservation Commission

Why the Old Hancock County Sheriff’s Home and Jail Matters

  • Built in 1886, designed by noted Portland architect Francis Fassett.

  • Dual-purpose structure to house the sheriff’s family, with inmates in 16 granite jail cells.

  • Served as the Hancock County Jail for nine decades, from 1886–1980.

  • Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

  • Remains largely unchanged since 1886 in both the domestic and jail portions.

Background: Multi-Phase 1886 Hancock County Sheriff’s Home and Jail Rehabilitation Project

The Ellsworth Historical Society is undertaking a multi-phase rehabilitation project of the 1886 Hancock County Sheriff’s Home and Jail (Old Jail), one of Maine’s surviving examples of a combined county jail and sheriff’s residence, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

2026 — Phase II: Roof & Phase III: Exterior Carpentry Project

  • Historic slate roof and gutter rehabilitation — architectural plans and specifications written and bid invitations sent. Accepted the bid from Hahnel Brothers, and roof rehabilitation work begins in Fall 2026.

  • Rehabilitation of 40+ original windows — architectural plans and specifications written and bid invitations sent.

  • Grants Received: Maine Development Foundation’s Maine Downtown Center ReVitalizeME Downtown grant, in partnership with the Maine Historic Preservation Commission.

2026–2027 — Lived Experiences Project

Background

As rehabilitation progresses, the Ellsworth Historical Society is simultaneously researching the historical record necessary to fully interpret the lived experiences at the Old Jail. Institutional records and other written records, such as newspaper articles and official reports, tell one part of its story. EHS is now identifying people whose personal lived experiences can provide the human side of the story of a rural county jail between the years 1955 and 1980. The EHS Oral History Committee is seeking the voices of people who experienced the jail—as sheriffs and their families, jail employees, law enforcement, former inmates, attorneys/prosecutors, families, and community members.

Research

One project is to continue collecting and organizing into a database the published police blotter and other jail-related articles from 1955 to 1980. These years will add to a body of 600+ newspaper articles collected between 1900 and 1945. Focusing on the late 20th century overlaps with the memories of people alive today who had personal first- or second-hand experience with law enforcement and life at the Old Jail. (The Jail ceased to house prisoners in 1980, and a new Hancock County Jail facility, currently in use, was built soon after.)

Another project is to locate all repositories of published materials regarding the sheriff’s record keeping and required reports to the County and to the State of Maine. Other records to locate are State-published documents that include surveys of the conditions of county jails, publications of new laws and regulations, and information about budgets for operating county jails.

Grants Received

  • Historic New England’s Herbert and Louise Whitney Fund for Community Preservation

Oral History Research Project

Another project underway is locating names and contact information for an upcoming oral history collecting project. The Oral & Living History Committee is in conversation with specialists who will professionally collect oral histories and store them for public access.

Project Leadership

Jen Sala — Chair, Oral & Living History Committee

Wayne Smith, PhD — EHS Volunteer: historian, genealogist, and researcher

Carla Murgia Haskell, AIA, LEED AP — Chair, Old Jail Preservation Committee / architect

Betsy Arntzen — Assistant Treasurer, grant development/project support

Becky Holt Fine — EHS Volunteer: grant development/project support