"The first jail in Portsmouth was built in 1699 on Congress street, near the entrance of Fleet street, on the glebe land, but the exact spot is not known. It was a strong log house, 30 by 14 ft. square. In 1759 another was built on the southern corner of Warren and Chestnut streets, constructed of oak timber hewn square and covered with iron bars, and lined with plank. This stronghold was burnt in the fire of 1781, when Woodbury Langdon’s house was destroyed. The flames from the burning jail were so intensely hot that the firemen could only work a few minutes at a time while engaged in saving Col. Whipple’s house. In 1782 the old wooden jail on Islington street was built, and fifty years later the stone jail adjoining it. Both buildings were used until the new jail on State street was built, which was first used in 1891."

Excerpted from The Portsmouth Guide Book, 1896, by Sarah Haven Foster.

Inscription reads, "Old jail Islington St., 1782."