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Huntingdon borough

A Prisoner Burned With The Jail

Did you know? The log jail Huntingdon County built on lot No. 41 burned with a prisoner inside.

On August 25, 1791, under the agreement that made Huntingdon the county seat, Dr. Smith conveyed lot No. 41 to trustees as a site for a county prison. A log jail was put up on it. After standing some years it was destroyed by fire. There was a prisoner in it at the time whom it was impossible to rescue, and he was burned with the building.

The lot was on the east side of what is now Second Street, directly opposite the end of Penn Street. When the turnpike was made through Huntingdon it passed over the lot. The next jail was a small stone building on what is now Third Street.

Checked and confirmed. CONFIRMED 2026-10-03 against the sources listed: every factual sentence was tied to a verbatim passage and a script confirmed each passage is in its source. Where sources disagreed on a number, the number was left out.

Sources

  1. Milton Scott Lytle, History of Huntingdon County (1876)

Checked 2026-10-03 · County histories and primary sources, read in full

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Photographs from Huntingdon borough

Hunt Tower, Fifth & Allegheny Streets, HuntingdonHunt Tower, Fifth & Allegheny Streets, HuntingdonLibrary of Congress · pa2736
Stone Creek Bridge II, South of Penn Street between First & Second Streets, HuntingdonStone Creek Bridge II, South of Penn Street between First & Second Streets, HuntingdonLibrary of Congress · pa2738
Huntingdon Station, Fourth & Allegheny Streets, HuntingdonHuntingdon Station, Fourth & Allegheny Streets, HuntingdonLibrary of Congress · pa2735
1947 Tucker '48 Prototype, Huntingdon1947 Tucker '48 Prototype, HuntingdonLibrary of Congress · pa4156
The Huntingdon County courthouse in 1905, the building the grand jury's report of 1882 led to.The Huntingdon County courthouse in 1905, the building the grand jury's report of 1882 led to.Unknown authorUnknown author · stg09
Airplane view of Huntingdon looking west, a linen-texture postcard published by W. A. Grimison and Son of Huntingdon, between about 1930 and about 1945Airplane view of Huntingdon looking west, a linen-texture postcard published by W. A. Grimison and Son of Huntingdon, between about 1930 and about 1945Boston Public Library, Tichnor Brothers collection no. 80546. Published by W. A. Grimison and Son, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · Tichnor Brothers collection 80546

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