HONESDALE, PA — It’s a dark moonless night, a week before Halloween. About 10 of us wait our turn to enter the Old Stone Jail in Honesdale for one of its annual Jail Tales “ghost tours.”

The jail is squat and imposing. Its stones are rough-hewn, and the few narrow windows are barred in sturdy cast iron. Even in daylight, the jail is imposing. In the dark, it seems even more oppressive. And tonight it’s lit mainly by lanterns and flickering candles. Well, OK, the lanterns appear to be LEDs, but the mood is decidedly somber, and even a bit spooky.

A casual visitor to Honesdale might be forgiven for missing the Old Stone Jail. The jail is located near the center of town, but out of sight on the far eastern end of 10th Street. It overlooks the Lackawaxen River, behind the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office.

The day before my ghost tour, I visited the Wayne County Museum on Main Street in Honesdale. Carol Dunn, the executive director of the Wayne County Historical Society, along with the museum’s researchers, graciously provided me with information regarding the jail and its history. She also opened the jail’s doors and allowed me to wander its dark, damp hallways.

What is now known as the Old Stone Jail was completed in 1859 for $16,000. This was an extravagant sum in those days, equal to at least $600,000 in today’s dollars. Although most of the building was constructed of bluestone quarried nearby, white granite was brought in from Vermont to add a decorative touch around the doors and windows. These additions were seen as unnecessary by some of Honesdale’s citizens, who vociferously voiced their objections. Still, the jail was much needed in the area. The former jail was wooden, which made escape a recurring problem.

Today, the inside of the jail is dungeon-like, much as it was in the 19th century. The sheriff’s office is near the entrance, with five cells along each side of the building’s central corridor. Each cell is roughly nine feet by 12 feet, with a high, vaulted ceiling and a narrow barred window at the far end. A door of latticed cast iron guarded a cell’s entrance and included a small opening for passing in the prisoners’ meals. The latrine was basically a hole in the floor that opened into the basement below. There was no electricity, no running water and no central heating. In the long hallway, a lone coal-fired stove provided the only warmth.

Most of the prisoners were held for relatively short periods of time for minor offenses—petty larceny, breaking and entering, drunkenness, vagrancy and simple assault. But the jail also housed a few noteworthy criminals, including murderers.

There have been five executions in Wayne County, all by hanging. The last two were held at the Old Stone Jail, on what is now a back parking lot. The final hanging, in 1887, resulted from one of the most notorious crimes in Honesdale’s history. James McCabe, a resident of Preston Township, murdered his neighbor during a robbery. While awaiting his execution, McCabe broke out of the Old Stone Jail and remained at large for four months before recapture. The Town of Honesdale printed 70 invitations to witness McCabe’s execution. Those without a ticket attempted to view the spectacle from nearby rooftops.

At the Jail Tales event, the audience moved through the facility while the performers remained in their cells. We first met the sheriff and his wife, who would have lived at the jail and provided the prisoners with meals. They were played by Gerald and Nancy Leer. The “ghosts” of several inmates filled the other rooms and told their stories as we entered. Two performances were particularly moving, and were based on actual events at the jail. Mike Parenti played the infamous James McCabe. In Parenti’s retelling, McCabe was a man racked by misgivings, but still presented himself as a victim of circumstance. 

Especially tragic was Nickey Ronacher’s recounting. She told of leaving her child behind at the Old Stone Jail. After her husband was imprisoned for bigamy (he had at least two other wives), she left their young son with the sheriff before fleeing Pennsylvania. The actors’ melancholy stories and candlelit cells created an appropriately somber mood.

Jail Tales was put on by the Greater Honesdale Partnership. The partnership also presents a variety of other programs throughout the year. (Find them online at visithonesdalepa.com.) If you’d like further information about the Old Stone Jail, or to discover more about the history of Honesdale, contact the Wayne County Historical Society and visit the Wayne County museum. The society’s website is www.waynehistorypa.com.