Old Jail Museum opens
Gala kicks off event with music, food and fun
HARRISON KEELY, Sentinel Writer

Both of his parents were in jail. His father was locked up with other prisoners upstairs and his mother was behind bars in the basement. As a youth he would come and stand on the staircase between the two floors to relay messages between his mom and his dad who couldn't hear through the floor. The boy once came back to the jail many years later as a man and recounted his story to the curators of the museum that now consumed the building.

Such is just one of the stories that museum guides tell at the Old Clay County Jail in Hayesville. The county's historical and arts council celebrated the opening day of a new season of intriguing tours, fresh exhibits and rich history Saturday, despite difficulties with the building's air conditioning units mid-morning.

In addition to the memorysoaked Trails of Tears artifacts and the antique desk that formed Hayesville's first post office in 1869, new exhibits including the art of wildflowers and sock-knitting machines, made for intriguing tours.

The museum, which will be open until August, Tuesday- Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., is located in the old jail building which was constructed nearly a century ago in 1912 at a cost of $3,829.

One of the guests taking a tour on opening day actually lived in the old jail house for a while. Mary Sue Barnard said her father was Clay County's sheriff for two terms from 1948 through the Fifties.

"He had several people keeping [up] the jail and cooking for prisoners so I moved up and stayed a while until he got somebody else to stay," she said. Barnard said her bedroom was on the second floor and that she remembered being in the kitchen and living room downstairs before the building became a museum and additions were constructed.

"If we had prisoners, we would cook for them everyday," she recalled.

The brick building remained in use as a jail until 1972 when the sheriff's department moved into its new location. Many stories were told at the museum opening this year, which included band "Butternut Creek and Friends." Raffles tickets earned prizes every hour on the hour between 1-3 p.m and refreshments were served under one of many tents on the front lawn.

In fact, local artists came to showcase their work for the event and show off talent in quilting, painting and more. Artisans who had their work included were Diane Banakas (fabric), Roberta Persick (colored pencil), Virginia Urani (watercolor), Bill Persick (ceramic) and Zoe Schumaker (pastel).

To comment on this article, email Harrison at hkeely@gmail.com.

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