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Spanish jail

Revision as of 12:18, 6 June 2007 by Admin (talk | contribs) (New page: thumb|right|200px|The old Spanish jail on [[Alcaniz Street]] The '''Spanish jail''', known in Spanish as the '''''calabozo''''' ("dungeon") and corrupted in Engli...)
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The old Spanish jail on Alcaniz Street

The Spanish jail, known in Spanish as the calabozo ("dungeon") and corrupted in English to calaboose, was constructed at the southwest corner of Alcaniz and Intendencia Streets during Pensacola's second Spanish period and, despite conditions that were described as "deplorable" by federal surveyors who inventoried the Spanish properties after the 1821 transfer to the United States, remained the primary detention facility for both Pensacola and Escambia County until 1875, when a new county jail was constructued on Jefferson Street at Main.

The Spanish jail was a two-story brick structure, about 18 feet by 36 feet, with two rooms on each floor. Prisoners were held on the first floor, while the jailer and his family stayed on the second. A small wooden building on the property served as a kitchen.

Notable prisoners