Old Jail Museum

I’ve been to the jail many times and each time I go I am constantly learning something new! This place is filled with so much history and the tour guides really know their stuff! The gift shop that they have is really nice as well and has a lot of unique items in it. Great place to go if you’re in the area!

An ancestor of mine spent time in this jail in the 1930s (a few months for a *non-​violent* crime), so it was extra eerie for me. And the fact that some of the Molly Maguires were executed right in the center hall, egads. Our teenage tour guide provided answers for all of our questions.
I had wanted to visit for many years and never worked out the right time of year. The tour is only $ 7, and the small gift shop is similarly inexpensive. We got to see the upstairs library, said to be the most haunted spot, and they let you wander wherever you want after the (short) tour of about ½ hour.
Like others have said, it is just incredible that this jail was open until 1995. It was designed by the same person who did the Eastern State Penitentiary. The jail was used in the filming of the 1969 movie The Molly Maguires with Sean Connery, which gives you a whiff of the difficulty of coal mining work, how the miners were oppressed, and why organized labor was needed (because you can’t count on business to be ethical). It’s the scene where the police are running up the jail stairs, and you can see the warden’s peephole in the background.
It’s fascinating to hear how the jail worked through the years, such as the warden living there with his family, which seems so strange today. Philosophies about incarceration, punishment, and rehabilitation have fluctuated greatly over the centuries, which this place demonstrates. The private owners of this jail are looking to sell it, so who knows how long it will remain open. Go while you can. It will stick with you.
What a town Jim Thorpe/​Mauch Chunk is.

Talia was a great tour guide! Really knew her stuff and presented it very well. We hoped to find some ghosts, but it was BARELY haunted. Maybe we should come back in October for spooky season.

The museum itself is neat.
If you have the option to take the day tour over the ghost one, do it. Although the ghost one SOUNDS like it’ll be way cooler, you’ll be majorly disappointed.
I’ve been on both. I learned so much more during the day tour and it was still creepy enough! If not for that tour, I wouldn’t have gained anything from the ghost tour. It was absolutely rushed, unprofessional and just down right horrendous (and not in the «oooh, scary!» kind of way).
The guides were primarily in their teens and lacked the story telling skills needed for something like this. Using spirit fingers to spook your customers ain’t gonna work, honey. That and forgetting all of the info isn’t going to work either. Reading from a pamphlet would have been better.
With each story there was a moment set aside for exploring and taking pictures. Hint: moment. The guides were impatient and pushy and basically said «alright, time to move on» when only half of the individuals got to see inside a cell. It was ridiculous. If I’m paying $ 10 a person, I expect to get SOMETHING out of this!
The most unprofessional part was the end. There were two small children hanging around the last guide. They were causing disruption by playing around with the halloween decorations and throwing around a ball and yelling, which made the guide stop what he was doing and tell them to behave. Then we come to find out that the older of the two kids had a portion of the story telling, which could have been cool… if he didn’t recite it and then go off to throw the ball against the jail’s outside wall. It was really annoying and ruined whatever ‘spooky’ atmosphere there should have been.
I felt pretty jaded about the whole experience and might even ask for a refund.

The jail is open daily with the exception of Wednesday from 12:00 to 4:30 with tours starting about every fifteen minutes from Memorial Day until Labor Day and then weekends only until the end of October.
Prices are currently $ 6.00 for adults, $ 5.00 for seniors over 65, $ 4.00 for children 6 – 12 and kids under 6 are free plus they do accept credit.
My fellow Unilocaler Aaron T. has his facts wrong regarding children under 12 not being allowed. Aside of the three ghost tour nights in October, children 12 and under are allowed at all times hence why they sell a ticket for that age range.
Parking like everywhere in JT is a real SOB. If you get there for the first tour then things may not be so bad but especially on a weekend you might have a bit of a hike as the jail only has a small lot and then after that you’re fighting with the locals for their very limited spaces.
The tour itself is very, very short. You’re given a brief speech in what was the warden’s living room and then you are taken to the second floor to see where the warden’s family lived, their bathroom (complete with the story that there was a guard posted in there at all times including when the family or warden was taking care of business), the main cell block, the women’s cells and the dungeon.
I didn’t time the tour but maybe it was around 20 – 25 minutes at the most as our young guide spoke very fast and kept us moving along at a brisk pace. After the tour concludes in front of the reproduction of the gallows where some of the Molly Maguires were hung you are allowed to roam freely anywhere except for the dungeon but including the infamous cell #17 with the hand print which is the only thing in the jail that you cannot take a picture of.
Overall is the tour worth it? I suppose as a one time gimmick to say that you did it but there truly is no reason to ever have to go back a second time and in terms of believing in any ghosts or the hand print I’ll use the infamous quote of former warden Charles Neast who said, «You don’t believe it. I don’t believe it. But there it is!»

The Old Jail tour was interesting and quick. Good as an extra piece to tack onto your Jim Thorpe visit, but definitely not a stand-​alone reason to visit the town.
Tour guides are young and not necessarily good with public speaking, but have interesting information to share and can be understood. On my visit we heard from two tour guides, both of whom spoke a little too fast and stumbled over their words frequently. However they were friendly and humorous and well-​versed in the information they shared.
Adult prices were $ 6 each at the time of my visit and my family and I felt it worth the tour. Sadly there was no discount for college students.

We just got back from the Old Jail. Second time going. Class field trip. Enjoy it every time. Actually couldn’t wait to see it again. Definitely a must see!

Very cool tour of an old Pennsylvania county jail. They are open Memorial Day to Labor Day and open weekends in September and October. In October, they also offer ghost tours for the Halloween season.
Depending on the tour guide you get, they may be more or less enthusiastic about their job, which may vary your experience at the prison. Their guides are mostly teenage & college aged.
There is a modest cost of the tours, but it’s well worth it to see the jail.
The prison closed in 1995, and was turned into a museum at that point. It’s interesting to think that a jail with such a «mid-​evil» feel was open through the ‘90s. That aside the tour is packed with insights on the life of the warden’s family, the female cells, the guard’s outlook post, the jail cells, dungeons, unoriginal gallows and the famous «ghostly» handprint. The tour guides will provide you with more insights of the Molly Maguire’s, executions at the jail, and some of the more famous escapes from the prison.
The famous handprint is copyrighted, so you can not take pictures of that at the cell, but visitors are welcome to take pictures of everything else at the jail. After your tour, you will also have an opportunity to walk around the jail unguided. There are placards around the jail with information on different items: laundry, kitchen, historical information, etc.
Parking is tight at the museum, so you may need to park on the street when visiting. No children under 12 years old are permitted in the museum.
If you’re in Jim Thorpe this location is a real treat for history buffs, ghost enthusiasts, or people into biography.

Pretty intriguing tour. I’m a sucker for historical landmarks, especially if it involves a murder mystery.
Sarah, the tour guide, was very good. She was very informative and spoke clearly.
The tour was $ 6 each (for adults) and about 30 – 45 mins long. We visited the wardens section of the jail, the jail cells for men, jail section for the women, the dungeon and the hanging gallows. The top floor, that had the watch tower, was closed off due to the old stairs being a safety hazard. One of the employees said they’re trying to raise money for restoration so they can open that up for tours in the future. She also showed us a photo a visitor sent in two weeks ago that was taken last year. It was a photo of the dungeon which caught a strange and very creepy face in the background. She said it may be Fisher, who was the man that left the handprint on the cell wall. I doubt the photo could be messed with since it was developed from film. Creepy!
It was an overall informative, cool and slightly creepy tour. I just wished it was longer or at least all sections were opened up. I like that they didn’t mess with the original details too much, except for areas that had to be restored.
Don’t miss this if you’re in town.

Enjoyed the tour and information we were told. The tour did seem a little short, and i agree with the other review that I would have liked more facts But they then offer you the chance to go take pictures and are more than willing to visit different spots with you.
Very interesting, and a cool place packed with history. I highly recommend the book by the owner, «Ghosts of the Molly Maguires?» if you’re into that aspect of it. Very cool!

This is a fun place to stop by which visiting Jim Thorpe. The Old Jail in a former Carbon County jail from the mid 1800’s to the mid 1990’s. Carbon County put it up for sale recently and a local couple bought it and run a budding museum and tour. The focus is perhaps a bit heavy on the supposed Molly Maguires who jailed here in the 1870s and the four who were executed together. The reconstructed gallows are well done, and the tour guides are well-​trained and very cheery. The dungeon is appropriately scary, and the cell block has not been tampered with. The wardens apartment is not reconstructed, so you have to use your imagination… which is good for you after-​all. Basically, except for the gallows, it looks like it did when it operated as a prison in 1995. A good scare for the kids. The only reason I deducted a star is because, as a teacher, I’m a bit of a stickler for historical accuracy, and I’m just not sure there isn’t a bit too much myth tucked in to the tour. Still fun though. Check it out.