{{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox NRHP | name = Beauregard Parish Jail | image = Beauregard_Parish_Jail.jpg | caption = | location = 205 West 1st Street, [[DeRidder, Louisiana]] | coordinates = {{coord|30.84625|-93.28821|format=dms|display=inline,title,source:ProprioMeOW}} | locmapin = Louisiana#USA | built = 1914 | architect = Stevens and Nelson | architecture = Collegiate Gothic | added = December 17, 1981 | area = {{convert|0.2|acre}} | refnum = 81000711<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2013a}}</ref> }}
'''Beauregard Parish Jail''' is a former jailhouse in [[DeRidder, Louisiana]], built in 1914 in the [[Collegiate Gothic|Gothic Revival architecture]] style. It is referred to as the '''Gothic jail''' or the '''Hanging jail'''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://insearchoflouisiana.blogspot.com/2008/12/sightseeing-in-deridder-hanging-jail.html|title=In search of Louisiana: Sightseeing in DeRidder: The Hanging Jail|first=Elizabeth|last=Devita-raeburn|date=11 December 2008|publisher=}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110927065200/http://www.beau.org/~velmer/local/jail.html Beauregard Parish Gothic Jail].</ref> The jail is owned by the [[Beauregard Parish, Louisiana|Beauregard Parish]] [[Police Jury]]. The Beauregard Parish Rehabilitation Committee serves under the direction of the Police Jury with the primary duty of the preserving the jail. The Beauregard Tourist Commission has a vested interest in the jail and other historic sites and has been involved in many aspects of securing a continued future of the jail.<ref name=nrhpdoc>{{cite web|url={{NRHP url|id=81000711}}|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination Form: Beauregard Parish Jail|author=The Honorable Eldridge L. Morris|date=August 1981|publisher=National Park Service|accessdate=March 23, 2018}} With {{NRHP url|id=81000711|title=seven photos from 1981|photos=y}}.</ref>
The jail was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on December 17, 1981.<ref name=nris/>
==History== The '''''Hudson River Lumber Company''''' donated a tract of land to the City of DeRidder for a courthouse and jail. The newly formed Beauregard Parish Police Jury, carved out of the old [[Calcasieu Parish|Imperial Calcasieu Parish]],<ref>Founded January 1, 1913</ref> purchased the property and a building from the church. Stevens-Nelson of [[New Orleans]] designed a courthouse and jail. Falls City Construction Company was awarded the contract in September 1913. Both buildings were completed in 1915 at a cost of $168,000.
===Notoriety=== "J. J. Brevelle was a taxi driver who was murdered by his "fares" while taking them to a rural destination. Brevelle is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery. The two men who were found guilty of his murder were hanged in the old parish jail on March 9, 1928. Deputy Sheriff's Jim Crumpler and Gill were the hangmen. ''Joe Genna'', age 25, was pronounced dead at 1:06 PM and ''Molton Brasseaux'' at 1:29 PM. Neither man was buried in Beauregard Parish."<ref>Beauregard Parish History At The Millennium-retrieved December 25, 2009</ref><ref>Copyright information listed in the book; "This material was compiled for public use, not for profit. The sole purpose was to provide the public with an easy to read version of local history".</ref>
It was after this incident, the Beauregard Parish Jail, sometimes referred to as the '''Gothic jail''', also became known as the '''Hanging Jail'''
==Culture== The structure not only made history because of its unique design but also because there was a toilet, shower, lavatory, and window in each cell. A large spiral staircase gave access to each cell. Architectural historian Johnathan Fricker stated, "The old jail is unique in structure, it has the possible distinction of being the only penal institution in the country using "Collegiate Gothic" design in the first decade of the 20th century."<ref>''Quote'': DeRidder Louisiana; The first 100 years 1903-2003, page 386 -Retrieved December 26, 2009</ref> The jail could "house" over 50 prisoners. There was a jailers' quarters on the bottom floor as well as a kitchen. There is a tunnel leading from the courthouse to the jail that was used to transport prisoners for trial.
===Current=== The building is currently not in use. Options are being explored as to current plans for the jail. On August 2, 2007, the Beauregard Tourist Commission submitted the building (noted as '''Beauregard Parish Jail "Gothic Jail"''') for inclusion in the [[Louisiana Preservation Alliance]]'s annual '''Ten Most Endangered List'''.<ref>Letter from the Beauregard Tourist Commission to the Louisiana Preservation Alliance. On file in their office.</ref> This will open new avenues for funding for the building. Negotiations are underway for the jail to be used in an up-coming movie.<ref>[http://www.beauregarddailynews.net/news/x1792920353/Disney-looking-at-Hanging-Jail-for-possible-film-location] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723023429/http://www.beauregarddailynews.net/news/x1792920353/Disney-looking-at-Hanging-Jail-for-possible-film-location |date=2011-07-23 }} -Possible filming at lail</ref>
[[Image:Beauregard Parish Jail caption2.JPG|thumb|270px]]
==In the media== ===Television=== The Beauregard Parish Jail (known as the Gothic Jail) was featured as a haunted location on the paranormal TV series, ''[[Most Terrifying Places]]'', which aired on the [[Travel Channel]] in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.travelchannel.com/shows/most-terrifying-places/episodes/death-car|title = Death Car}}</ref>
The Beauregard Parish Jail (known as the Gothic Jail) was featured as a haunted location on the paranormal TV series, ''[[Ghost Brothers: Lights Out]]'', which aired on the [[Discovery+]] in April 17, 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/g/11n1x_4mpz&hl=en-US&q=Ghost+Brothers:+Lights+Out+Death+Sentence&kgs=1c285fb298c27a1e&shndl=0&source=sh/x/kp/osrp&entrypoint=sh/x/kp/osrp|title=Ghost Brothers: Lights Out Death Sentence - Google Search}}</ref>
It was also featured in an Episode of Achievement Haunter in 2018.
==See also== * [[Old St. Helena Parish Jail]]: NRHP-listed in Greensburg, Louisiana * [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== *DeRidder Louisiana; The first 100 years, 1903–2003
==External links== {{commonscat}} *[http://www.cityofderidder.org City Of DeRidder.org] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20041213161531/http://www.beau.lib.la.us/history/BPHistry/ Beauregard Parish History]
{{National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana}} {{Portal bar|National Register of Historic Places|United States}} {{Beauregard Parish, Louisiana}}
[[Category:Parish jails in Louisiana]] [[Category:Government buildings completed in 1914]] [[Category:Jails on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana]] [[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana]] [[Category:1914 establishments in Louisiana]] [[Category:Collegiate Gothic architecture in the United States]] [[Category:Gothic Revival architecture in Louisiana]]