CURRITUCK — The county's old jail was built around 1857 and today sits idle. But local historians are seeking the county's help in restoring the jail for use as a historical site.

County Historian Barbara Snowden spoke Monday at a commission work session about the historical significance of the old jail. Joining Snowden was Carl Lounsbury, of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Architectural Research Department.

With the exception of the jail's brick exterior and a few windows, the building has undergone several alterations, Lounsbury told the commissioners. According to Lounsbury, many of the alterations were the result of changes in the techniques jails used to house inmates.

"Changing incarceration practices led to a major alteration of the Currituck jail in 1907," Lounsbury said.

In the years leading up to the Civil War, the jail consisted of four rooms — two upstairs and two downstairs — and was most likely used to hold runaway slaves, paupers, cattle rustlers and petty thieves, Lounsbury said. And the pauper room probably had two windows instead of one. The "down on-their luck" prisoners also were free to venture out during the day, as long as they returned at night, said Lounsbury, adding that they were not allowed to frequent a tavern that had a pool table.

In 1907, Currituck's Board of Commissioners voted to modernize the jail instead of building a new one. The modernizations included the

addition of individual cells, he said. Later, in the 1950s the jail was altered again.

Lounsbury said that taking the jail back to its original 1857 state would be expensive, but it could be modified to serve as a cultural, historical structure.

In 2005, six College of William and Mary students spent a week researching the old jail. Their research provided Lounsbury with enough information to develop a blueprint on how to proceed with the restoration process.

Lounsbury said the building is in reasonably good shape and would mainly require cosmetic work.

Barbara Snowden told the commissioners that the next step would be for the commissioners to appoint a committee, of which she said Lounsbury had volunteered to be a part of, and asked that they provide funds to hire an architect and a researcher.

County Manager Dan Scanlon told the commissioners that if they were ready to move forward, the county already has $100,000 of occupancy tax in the budget earmarked for historic preservation.

Board chairman Commissioner Barry Nelms indicated that he was responsive to the proposal. However, Commissioner Ernie Bowden said he would like to schedule another work session before committing to the project.

Nelms said the commissioners would schedule another work session in a few weeks, and asked Snowden to make suggestions as to who should serve on the committee. He also asked Snowden to contact some historical architects who would be interested in working on the project.