World Prisons
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United States · Charleston

Old Charleston Jail

Low
Verified
Aging · 5mo ago
Sources last reviewed on

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Photograph of Old Charleston Jail

Gallery

From Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA where not otherwise stated).

  • 003.NZ62.1459.2024.17.jpg

    Photo by Fayerweather Friend via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • 029.NZ62.1509.2024.17.jpg

    Photo by Fayerweather Friend via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • By Alonzo J White.jpg

    Photo by Charleston Courier via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • Charleston Jail and Workhouse 1865 in Harper's Weekly.jpg

    Photo by Lt. F. Millward, Harper's Weekly via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • Charleston, SC Old City Jail.jpg

    Photo by ChasNerd via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Old Charleston Jail 2024.jpg

    Photo by Fayerweather Friend via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Old Charleston Jail east face.jpg

    Photo by Michael Rivera via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Old Charleston Jail north east corner.jpg

    Photo by Michael Rivera via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Background

The Old Charleston Jail is a structure of historical and architectural significance located at 21 Magazine Street in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Operational between 1802 and 1939, the jail held many notable figures, among them Denmark Vesey, Union officers and Colored Troops during the American Civil War, and high-seas pirates. The Old Charleston Jail went through a renovation starting in 2016. It is now an event venue and museum.

Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.

Capacity

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Current population

—

Occupancy

—

Year opened

1802

Operational

Figures from official sources · verified 29 May 2026 · methodology

Facility profile

Operator

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Population held

Mixed/unknown

Opened

1802

Region

Charleston

Security level

—

Death-row facility

No

Conditions

No conditions summary available yet.

Visiting

No visiting information available.

Mailing

No mailing information available.

Practical info

Contact the operator's website for inmate-specific procedures.

Known issues

No major issues documented in our database.

Contact & address

No public contact details available.

Conditions Risk Score

Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated

—
Insufficient data
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Data completeness

16%

How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.

Sources

Cite this page

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APA
World Prisons. (2026). Old Charleston Jail. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/old-charleston-jail
Chicago
"Old Charleston Jail." World Prisons. Accessed October 20, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/old-charleston-jail.
BibTeX
@misc{worldprisons-old-charleston-jail,
  author = {{World Prisons}},
  title = {Old Charleston Jail},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/old-charleston-jail},
  urldate = {2026-10-20}
}