The majority of these photographs were taken during the 1930s-1950s and were part of President Roosevelt’s Work Progress Administration which targeted growth in the American infrastructure.
Additional photographs will be added, contingent upon availability and time.
Bell County Jail. (From the Herndon Evans Photogragraphic Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky) 
Boyle County Jail in the Mid-1970s. (From the Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky) 
Breathitt County Jail. Photo by George Goodman. (From the Goodman-Paxton Photogragraphic Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky) 
Bullitt County Jail. (From the Courier-Jourmal, Louisville, Kentucky) 
Carroll County Jail. (From the Karl Raitz Kentucky Slides Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky) 
Carter County Jail. Photo by George Goodman. (From the Goodman-Paxton Photogragraphic Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky) 
Fayette County Jail. (From the Clay Lancaster Slide Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky) 
Fayette County Jail. (From the Layayette Studios Photographs: 1930s Decade, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky) 
Hopkins County Jail. (From the Messenger, Madisonville, Kentucky) 
Knott County Jail. Photo by George Goodman. (From the Goodman-Paxton Photogragraphic Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky) 
Jefferson County Jail in the Late 1960s. (From the Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky) 
Lawrence County Jail. Photo by George Goodman. (From the Goodman-Paxton Photogragraphic Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky) 
Lincoln County Jail. Photo by George Goodman. (From the Goodman-Paxton Photogragraphic Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky) 
McLean County Jail. (From the McLean County News, Calhoun, Kentucky) 
McCreary County Jail Built in 1915. (From the Courier-Jourmal, Louisville, Kentucky) 
Morgan County Jail. Photo by George Goodman. (From the Goodman-Paxton Photogragraphic Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky) 
Nelson County Jail. (From the Carolyn Murray-Wooley Color Transperencies Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky) 
Ohio County Jail. Photo by George Goodman. (From the Goodman-Paxton Photogragraphic Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky) 
Oldham County Jail. (From the Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky) 
Owsley County Jail. Photo by George Goodman. (From the Goodman-Paxton Photographic Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky) 
Pike County Jail. Photo by George Goodman. (From the Goodman-Paxton Photographic Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky) 
Pineville City Jail, Circa 1938-1940. Photo by George Goodman. (From the Goodman-Paxton Photographic Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky) 
Pulaski County Jail. Photo by George Goodman. (From the Goodman-Paxton Photographic Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky) 
Pullam’s Slave Jail, North Broadway, Lexington. (From the Lexington, Kentucky Photograph Albums, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky) 
Rowan County Jail. Photo by George Goodman. (From the Goodman-Paxton Photographic Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky) 
Scott County Jail. (From the Courier-Jourmal, Louisville, Kentucky) 
Unknown County Jail. Photo by George Goodman. (From the Goodman-Paxton Photographic Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky) 
Warren County Jail. Photo by George Goodman. (From the Goodman-Paxton Photographic Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky) 
Warren County Jail. Photo by George Goodman. (From the Goodman-Paxton Photographic Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky) 
Whitley County Jail. Photo by George Goodman. (From the Goodman-Paxton Photographic Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky) 
Muhlenberg County Jail. (From the Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Kentucky) 
Monitcello City Municipal Building with City Hall, City Jail, and Fire Station, 1936. Photo by George Goodman. (From the Goodman-Paxton Photographic Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky)
Contributed by Shawn Logan | contact@kyhi.org
⁘ Works Cited ⁘
- The Lexington Leader, 9 December 1949
- The Lexington Leader, 12 December 1952
- Goodman, George. The Goodman-Paxton Photogragraphic Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.
- Raitz, Karl. The Karl Raitz Kentucky Slides Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.
- Lancaster, Clay. The Clay Lancaster Slide Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.
- Murray-Wooley, Carolyn. The Carolyn Murray-Wooley Color Transperencies Collection, Special Collections, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.
Important note:
If you would like to use any information on this website (including text, bios, photos and any other information) we encourage you to contact us. We do not own all of the materials on this website/blog. Many of these materials are courtesy of other sources and the original copyright holders retain all applicable rights under the law. Please remember that information contained on this site, authored/owned by KHI, is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Photographs, text, illustrations and all other media not authored by KHI belong to their respective authors/owners/copyright holders and are used here for educational purposes only under Title 17 U.S. Code § 107.
Kentucky Historic Institutions 