Today we took a road trip out to the Fauquier History Museum at the Old Jail located in Old Town Warrenton. We donated the faux bread and fatback for one of the prison’s displays. We were warmly greeted at the door by Sean Redmiles, the Executive Director.
The museum and prison offers a fascinating look at Fauquier’s past history including the actual jail cells used by the prisoners.
We were initially taken to a prison display area which was set up to look like a vintage prison cell. The prison walls have been stripped back to the original jail cell walls consisting of thick slabs of wood. The prisoner’s beds were narrow straw mats tossed on the floor.
Museum Secret . . . Raffia was used to stuff the beds because straw isn’t clean enough to use in the museum exhibit.
Sean explained to us that visitors on the tour, in particular children, are allowed to sit on the floor beds so they can see how hard and uncomfortable the prison beds are.
The below photograph on the left shows the vintage jail cell’s chains on the floor which were used to foil any escape attempts. The second photograph shows a more recent white sink jutting out from the wall. The shadowy pattern of prison bars falls eerily on the hard floor.
Chain Cemented into the Floor 
Prison Cell with White Sink
The tour also included a tour of the solitary confinement cells which were located in another part of the prison and only accessible by a set of steep wrought iron steps.
A solitary confinement cell is the last place a person wants to be. Prisoners in solitary confinement had no meaningful contact with other prisoners, strict measures were followed to control contraband, and it was a dark, miserable place.
The museum is not all prison related but offers a variety of historic objects to view. In the below photograph on the right, you will notice the Civil War relics from Fauquier county.
I also saw a visitor checking out locations on a vintage area map which was located on one of the museum’s walls.
Pots and Bowls used to Make Meals for the Prisoners 
Historic Artifacts on Display
I really liked the prisoner’s exercise yard. It now has a few benches for museum visitors to sit on and also a string of lights for night time use.
The doors in the jail are unbelievably heavy. I was not able to move one even an inch.
So how did the faux brown bread and fatback turn out? Looks great in the display. We also added a couple of hand dipped bayberry candles. If you look closely you will see them in the black candlestick holder.
A small brown table was added to vintage exhibit so the bread and fatback could be displayed.
There is a small fee to tour the historic museum and jail but it is well worth it. If you have not seen the vintage cell display, now is the time to come and see it. The museum has also put together a brand new display on Freedom Seekers: Runaway Slaves In Fauquier County.
The Fauquier History Museum at the Old Jail is also offering a virtual program entitled Virtual Paranormal Investigation of the Old Jail on June 18th. In this virtual program you will watch and participate in a live ghost-hunt experience. Apparently museum docents will tell stories of strange happenings.
The museum has a gift store onsite, a virtual store and a site for online donations. Certain areas of the museum are available for rent for small receptions, meetings or even to paranormal investigational groups.
The front sign of the museum look like a stock from years ago.
A special thank you to Sean Redmiles for the interesting tour and for permission to take photographs of the Fauquier History Museum at the Old Jail for today’s blog.
For Your Information – August 4, 2021
I’ve been working on trying to find four worn out spoons for the vintage prison exhibit. It has proven to be more difficult than I thought. Most times, secondhand stores will just toss out overly worn silverware. I found a couple of spoons that have the look I want but still look too new. I decided to age them a bit by placing them in a planter. LOL, right?
I hope by placing these two spoons in my patio planter that they will get the aged look I want. I might also hit them a few times with a hammer.
Just thinking outside the box or should I say inside the planter?