Free Tours of Lumpkin County Historic Old Jail

The 1884 Lumpkin County Jail & Museum will be open on Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. during the Bear on the Square Mountain Festival for free tours conducted by members of the Lumpkin County Historical Society. The Jail, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985, is located on Enota Street next to the Cannery Art Center two blocks east of Dahlonega’s Historic Public Square. The annual Bear on the Square Mountain Festival is taking place in Dahlonega that weekend.

The Museum displays at the Old Jail include household items that would have been used in the 1800s and early 1900s, artifacts from daily life during those times, and vintage photographs including gold mining scenes, historical buildings and significant events. A recent addition item in the jail is a cardboard cutout of a picture of Bill Miner (also known as the Gentleman Bandit and the Grey Fox), the most famous resident of the Historic Old Jail.