Approval of the sell and conveyance of the old jail, old library and an office building to the Lancaster County Society of Historical Preservation for the purpose of restoring the Old Jail and Library and utilizing them to highlight their original and historic purpose.  

In August 2022, the Lancaster County Society of Historic Preservation made a presentation to County Council requesting ownership of the County properties on the parcel of land located at the corner of West Gay and South French Street in order to refurbish the buildings, including the Old Jail and Library, and highlight their historic relevance to the community.

This iconic Library structure was built in 1936-7 in the “WPA era” architectural style of the time and was the County’s first dedicated library building. It served as a major community asset until 1970 when the new library building was built on White Street. Several generations of Lancastrians used the old library not only to check out books, but as a haven for writing term papers and conducting other research, and it was the base for the Bookmobile that brought library books to country stops around the county, providing rural families access to books that they might otherwise not have had.

Most recently the old Library building served as the County's EMS Headquarters, but has remained vacant for at least the past five year and is in need of repairs, including a new roof and plaster wall repair.  The proposal by the Society is to restore the facility in the image of its original design and use it as an Archives Center.

The Old Jail was designed by early American Architect, Robert Mills, who was a protege of Thomas Jefferson, and helped popularize the Greek Revival style of architecture throughout his career.  The Jail was built in 1823 and incorporated innovative jail design changes promoted by Mills.  The Old Jail is listed on the US Register of National Historic Places.  It most recently had County offices on the first floor, but the second floor has remained unused for numerous years, as it has had the rafter supports reinforced and there are still burn marks on the rafters and ceiling from when there was fire in the Jail. 

The Society plans to renovate the facility and use it for a Visitor's Center and office space, with the potential for exhibit or event space.  

This parcel of land is included in the cultural arts district plan for Gay Street and ties into other proposed projects to revitalize the Gay Street corridor.  A newly restored and recast Lancaster County Archives Center and Historic Jail Visitor's Center will result in direct and indirect benefits to the County through revitalization of the property, driving further redevelopment efforts for surrounding properties and thereby creating jobs and increasing the tax base for Lancaster County.

The conveyance includes the following requirements:

(1) A nominal payment

(2) the Historic Jail and Old Library be made accessible, but not necessarily fully restored and recast, to the public within five years of the date of the conveyance; and

(2)  allows for the  demolition of the current Clemson Cooperative Extension Office Building within four years from the date of the conveyance.

The real property is surplus to the needs of the County. A condition of the conveyance is that should the Lancaster County Society for Historical Preservation cease ownership of the real property at some time in the future or if the property is no longer used for a public purpose, then ownership of the property shall revert back to the County at no cost.

All three buildings on the parcel were appraised in October 2022 at a value of $200,000, but all the buildings need significant investment to address roof repairs, moisture issues, and other updates.

The County will have to determine if it still wants to be responsible for providing office space for the Clemson Cooperative Extension space, as their current facility next to the Old Library is proposed to be torn down within four years.

Approve Ordinance 2023-1861.