On January 22, 1880 a fire broke out in the jailhouse which had been started by a prisoner who was trying to warm his feet. The alarm in town sounded between 12 and 1am, and the people rushed to assist putting out the fire. The cells had to be broken into in order to rescue the prisoner from burning to death, but to no avail the jailhouse was destroyed. The total loss was totaled at $1,100.

                For two years, the community was without a jail. Prisoners had to been transported to Savannah and Jesup to await trial. Finally, a new brick jailhouse was built in the late September of 1882, and stood in place of the previous one. It was contracted out to Mr. William Armitage at the cost of $875.00. One year later the Ordinary had a fence built around the jailhouse. The first inmate of the new jail was Charles Gadson, who had eluded officers for quite some time. He was arrested for simple larceny by Sheriff Byrd in Waycross. W.L. Macmillan was acting jailer. The jail was christened by some of the locals as “the Gadson House”. After of only a few years of operation, the Grand Jury determined the jailhouse was being neglected and poorly managed by the sheriff and the jailer. This prompted the construction of another jail.

                 The third jail built which stands in park square today, was constructed in September 1894 by Pauly Jail Building Manufacturing Co., of St. Louis, Missouri at the cost of $4,992.00. It was very well constructed of brick, stone, and steel which is why it still stands today. As one of the local noted, “The new jail should be Gothic in design, to illustrate the Goths and Vandals of society who occupy it; with a dash of the Renaissance to point to the “new birth unto righteousness”. He added, “A miser for a jailer would complete the tout ensemble”. This description may very well be how local citizens came to call this the “Hanging Jail”. However, the only known individual ever to be hanged in Blackshear was Robert Skellie, who on December 27, 1879 murdered his wife with a frying pan. He was hanged the following month on January 23, 1880 on the outskirts of town in an area known as Burney Branch, which is in the vicinity of the Lakeview Country Club.

Through the past three generations it has been known as the old “Hanging Jail”. However, this jail has never recorded to have hanged a criminal from its gallows- like tower.  Believed to be the third in a series of jailhouses, this unique Gothic structure of justice was constructed in 1894 after the previous jailhouses burned or were determined insufficient for holding hardened criminals.

                The earliest known jailhouse constructed in Blackshear is the one which is mentioned in the 1878 edition of the “Little Gem” newspaper. It was built prior to this date and may very well have been the first jailhouse constructed when Blackshear was incorporated in 1859. However, through the years many records have either deteriorated or burned in courthouse fires. Nevertheless, this structure stood where the second jail was later constructed. E.Z. Byrd was the sheriff and editor of the town paper at the time. One of the recorded prisoners of the jail was Frank Norman. He was a resident of the jail while he awaited trial for throwing a ball or some object into the passenger train at Carter’s turpentine distillery on August 18, 1878.

                Another inmate Pinetty Young, managed to break out of the jailhouse and escaped the following month. It was during this time the Grand Jury discussed efforts to improve upon the poor facility.