Primary County: Davidson

Date Filed (format: YYYY/MM/DD): 1803/01/07

Petitioner(s):

Purpose / Short Description: New jail needed

Text of Petition: 7-1-1803-1
To the Honorable the General Assembly of the
State of Tennessee; The Memorial of the Board
of Commissioners for the Government of the
Town of Nashville, represents.-
The present situation of the Jail of Da=
vidson County is such, that it is impossible with-
out great labor & difficulty to keep it in proper
order, and by the number of breaches made thro'
the said Jail, has rendered it very unfit for the
safekeeping of Prisoners. The noxious effluvia
arising from the filth whiche is thrown from
the said Jail in the warm and sickly season
very much endangers the health and lives of the
Inhabitants living adjacent thereto, and particular-
ly by those who are settled on the fractional lots
which were sold for the purpose of building
the said Jail. Your memorialists further
represent, that the repairs which the present
Jail just necessarily undergo in a very short
time, and the subscriptions which might be
had for building a new one or removing the
present, would be nearly equal to the ex=
pences necessary. They also represent, that a
situation which superior to the present might
be had very convenient to water. They there=
fore wish your Honble body to take the pre=
=mises under your consideration, and appoint
Commissioners for the purpose of fixing on some
more eligible spot than the present, which
would be the least injurious to the Citizens of
the Town, and contract for the building