The Historic Jail Study Project is a project whose purpose is to photograph and catalogue the historic jails of the United States before they disappear.
This particular phase of the project is based in Las Cruces, New Mexico and is primarily concerned with the historic jails of New Mexico--those jails built before 1920--both archival and still standing.
In the green box to the left you will find links to the counties of New Mexico and photographs of those jails that have already been catalogued.
The bulk of the project, which is housed in Cheney, Washington, is concerned with cataloguing and photographing all the historic jails of the United States--primarily those jails built before 1920 and still standing.
In the yellow box to the left you will find links to the 50 states.
Please check out our link to the historic penitentiaries of the United States. You will find it under U.S. Jails in the yellow box to the left.
This link will take you to visit jails that are located in Countries outside of the United States. You will find it under U.S. Jails in the yellow box to the left.
Please check out our Links to other jail sites on the web. You will find it under U.S. Jails in the yellow box to the left.
The HJSP was begun in the early 1990s in the Criminal Justice Department of Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington by Professor Emeritus Jay Moynahan. He is currently the HJSP Director. In 1995, Emily M. Matthias came on board as Assistant Director. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Criminal Justice at New Mexico State University and is concentrating on the historic jails of New Mexico.
To catalogue and photograph those historic jails of the United States that are still in existence and to obtain archival photographs of those jails that are no longer standing. Further, it is our hope to generate interest in the historic preservation of these buildings for the enjoyment of future generations.
Please check back with us periodically. As we upload new jails and new jail photographs we will also be adding more information about each jail. We would love to hear from you with suggestions about what type of information you are interested in learning about these jails. Your comments and input will help us create an interesting and informative site about the historic jails of the United States.
Each month beginning in January 2000 we will highlight one of our Historic Jails. We will include expanded information, anecdotal stories and additional photographs. If you would like to see a particular jail in the SPOTLIGHT, please contact us with information.
If you have information about jails in New Mexico or in any other area of the United States, please contact us via e-mail at HistoricJails@cs.com or you may call us at 505.541.1557.
Thank you.