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The Old Adams County Jail on State Street was built in 1891 in the Queen Anne Style. The front of the building originally served as the home and office of the county sheriff, who was required to live in the jail and prepare food for the prisoners. The cellblock is in the rear two-story wing. The building ceased to be used as a jail in 1978 when the county opened a new jail facility next door. For a decade, county officials sought to demolish the old jail and the Historic Natchez Foundation sought to save it. In 1990, the Foundation funded a $5,000 study of the jail’s feasibility for adaptive reuse. After the 1991 election of supervisors David Huber and Sammy Cauthen, the building was renovated and reopened in 1994 as county offices and a meeting room for the Board of Supervisors. Now the pride of the county, the old jail is an important building in the city’s historic streetscape and is a favorite building of many locals, visitors, and filmmakers. These pictures are part of a series of before and after photographs that will run in The Natchez Democrat every Wednesday during 2024 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Historic Natchez Foundation.