What to See in Warrenton - Top Sights and Attractions

Museum in Warrenton, Virginia. Built in Warrenton in 1808, the sixth jail in Fauquier County, Virginia ran for only fifteen years before a new jail was erected behind it after a lawsuit with the Commonwealth of Virginia. In those fifteen years the four-cell jail saw death and disease from neglectful conditions. Soon after the 1823 jail was constructed, the 1808 jail was transformed into a jailer's house, so that he and his family could move in and care for the prisoners. A two-story sandstone addition was added onto the original brick structure to serve as a kitchen and second floor bedroom. It was operated as a jail until 1966, when the Fauquier Historical Society saved it from demolition and created a museum.

The museum was known as The Old Jail Museum before it was rebranded as the Fauquier History Museum at the Old Jail in 2014. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

The first execution of criminals condemned to suffer capital punishment in Virginia since the passage of the law, by the last General Assembly, requiring the sentence to be executed in private, occurred at the jail on July 11, 1879.^[1]

Warrenton Historic District is a national historic district located at Warrenton, Fauquier County, Virginia. It encompasses 288 contributing buildings in the central business district and surrounding residential areas of the county seat of Warrenton. Notable buildings include the old Fauquier County courthouse, Fauquier County Administration Building, the former Fauquier County Public Library, Fauquier National Bank, "Paradise", the Thomas L. Moore House, the James Caldwell House, the John Quincy Marr House, the Marshall Building, the California Building, old Town Hall, Warrenton Presbyterian Church, Ullman's Store, and "Mecca". Also located on the district are the separately listed Brentmoor and Old Fauquier County Jail.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

The nonprofit Experience Old Town Warrenton is an accredited organization by the National Main Street Program, located in the Warrenton Historic District. The nonprofit's mission is to foster and inspire an environment in Old Town Warrenton that enhances economic vitality while preserving the historic character of the community; and to promote a rich and appealing cultural atmosphere to live, play and do business.^[2]