Sitting atop a rocky hill near the center of York Village, the Old York Gaol (pronounced "jail"), a National Historic Landmark, was constructed in stages. The first prison on the site, a plank structure, was finished in 1656 and demolished around 1720. By the early eighteenth century, freestanding buildings of the prison complex included a House of Correction (1707, for debtors and minor criminals), the new Stone Prison (1720), and Gaoler's Residence (1729). The buildings were sited around an open-air prison yard. In 1737 this yard was infilled to create a prison kitchen that connected all three structures. Then, in 1763 a broad gambrel roof was constructed over the buildings with a guard room and new cells added in the upper level under the roof. Further additions were made in 1799 and 1806. The prison buildings on York's Gaol Hill have been a part of nearly the entire span of Maine governmental history, and served the Colonial Province of Maine, York County, and the Town of York. The Old Gaol opened as a museum on July 4, 1900, and is operated by the Old York Historical Society.
Year Listed: Individually, 1968; Historic District, 1973
National Historic Landmark Designated: 1968
The above chronology of changes represents recent investigations at the Old York Gaol. To read how this building was described in 1968 please see: https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=cdf07760-be33-4fd2-b06f-eedc2fb24c6c