The Norfolk County Jail was a wooden jail located on Highland Street in Dedham, Massachusetts.^[1] Following the creation of Norfolk County in 1792, Timothy Gay deeded land to the county for the creation of the jail in October 1794.^[2] Construction began that year but it was not complete until 1795.^[2][3] The donated land, next to Gay's tavern on Highland Street, was on the corner of Court Street next to the present day St. Paul's Church.^[2][4]

It received its first prisoner in February 1795.^[1] It housed Jason Fairbanks after his murder conviction, but he escaped.^[5] Timothy Gay, Jr. was the jail keeper and was indicted, but acquitted.^[5]

It was replaced by a new Norfolk County Jail in 1817.^[6][7]

Notes

References

Works cited

• Dedham Historical Society (2001). Dedham. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-0944-0. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
• Hanson, Robert Brand (1976). Dedham, Massachusetts, 1635-1890. Dedham Historical Society.
• Hurd, Duane Hamilton (1884). History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men. J. W. Lewis & Company. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
• Parr, James L. (1 October 2009). Dedham: Historic and Heroic Tales from Shiretown. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. ISBN 978-1-62584-277-0. Retrieved 15 August 2019.