This was the first San Juan County jail and was originally built near the Courthouse in 1894 at a cost of $234.50. It was used to lock up local lawbreakers until 1971, when it was condemned and declared to be “the worst jail in the state of  Washington.” The most notorious prisoner housed here was Blakely Island murderer Richard Straub, hanged in Friday Harbor in 1897, San Juan Island’s only execution. In 1982, the  jail was moved to the Museum grounds.

Jail