Museums have been created from many former jails and prisons.
Some old jails converted into museums are listed under the original name of the jail, especially if listed on the US National Register of Historic Places. For example, see Old St. Johns County Jail in St Augustine, Florida.
Museums with a main purpose not associated with the jail or prison in which they are located are listed separately, below the main list.
| Name | width=120 | Location | width=150 | State/Province | width=120 | Country | Jail/ Prison | class=unsortable | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Gaol | Adelaide | South Australia | Australia | Prison | |||||
| Seodaemun Prison | Seoul | Seoul Capital Area | South Korea | Prison | |||||
| 1811 Lincoln County Museum & Old Jail | Maine | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary | Tennessee | United States | State Prison | ||||||
| Abashiri Prison Museum | Abashiri | Hokkaido | Japan | Prison | The only prison museum in Japan.[1] | ||||
| Alcatraz Island | San Francisco Bay Area | California | United States | Prison | |||||
| Ancienne Prison de Trois-Rivières | Trois-Rivières | Quebec | Canada | Prison | |||||
| Beaumaris | Anglesey, Wales | United Kingdom | Jail | ||||||
| Bodmin | Cornwall | United Kingdom | Jail | http://www.bodminjail.org/ | |||||
| Buckingham Old Gaol | Buckingham | Buckinghamshire | United Kingdom | Jail | Museum of Buckingham and rural life as well as the building as a prison | ||||
| Mount Holly | New Jersey | United States | Prison | ||||||
| Carthage Jail | Carthage | Illinois | United States | Jail | location of the death of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement | ||||
| Cell Block 7 Prison Museum, State Prison of Southern Michigan | Jackson, Michigan | Michigan | United States | Prison | Closed as of December 2019. | ||||
| Central Penitentiary | San José | San José Province | Costa Rica | Prison | |||||
| Cellular Jail | Port Blair | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | India | Prison | Many Indian Independence activists were kept in this prison by the British during the British Raj in India. | ||||
| London | London Borough of Southwark | United Kingdom | Prison | ||||||
| Cork | County Cork | Republic of Ireland | Prison | ||||||
| Belfast | Northern Ireland | United Kingdom | Prison | ||||||
| Daviess County Rotary Jail and Sheriff's Residence | Gallatin | Missouri | United States | Jail | Rotary Jail | ||||
| Eastern State Penitentiary | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | United States | Prison | |||||
| Malton | North Yorkshire | United Kingdom | Prison | ||||||
| Ely Museum | Ely | Cambridgeshire | United Kingdom | Jail | |||||
| Fremantle Prison | Fremantle | Western Australia | Australia | Prison | |||||
| Nottingham | Nottinghamshire | United Kingdom | Jail and Prison | ||||||
| South Holland | Netherlands | Prison | |||||||
| Gloucester Prison | Gloucester | Gloucestershire | United Kingdom | Prison | |||||
| United Kingdom | Prison | ||||||||
| Historic Cornwall Jail | Cornwall | Ontario | Canada | Jail | |||||
| Hong Kong Correctional Services Museum | Southern District | Stanley | Hong Kong | Prison | Official webpage The museum comprises ten galleries with one mock gallows and two mock cells. | ||||
| Horsens Statsfængsel (Horsens Prison Museum) | Region Midtjylland | Denmark | Prison | ||||||
| Inveraray Jail | Inveraray | Argyll, Scotland | United Kingdom | ||||||
| Jail Museum (Truckee, California) | California | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Kansas Regional Prisons Museum | Lansing | Kansas | United States | Prison | https://web.archive.org/web/20111015011755/http://www.lansing.ks.us/index.aspx?NID=237 The Lansing Historical Museum is home to hundreds of artifacts and documents relating to the Kansas State Penitentiary/Lansing Correctional Facility. | ||||
| Kilmainham | Dublin | Ireland | Prison | ||||||
| Kingston | Ontario | Canada | Prison | Constructed 1833–1835, Kingston Penitentiary is the oldest standing prison dating to pre-confederation in Canada. After closing in 2013, the institution began operating tours seasonally from May–October, offering guided tours with online ticketing and Tour Guides as well as retired Correctional Staff on site to provide information to guests. | |||||
| Cobourg Jail | Cobourg | Ontario | Canada | Jail | Part of the jail is incorporated into the King George Inn, which includes a museum and artifacts from its time as a working jail.[2] | ||||
| Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery | Beloozero | Vologda Oblast | Russia | Prison | |||||
| Kosciusko County Jail Museum | Indiana | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Liberty Jail | Liberty | Missouri | United States | Jail | Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and associates were imprisoned there in 1838–1839 during the 1838 Mormon War. | ||||
| Littledean Jail | Gloucestershire | United Kingdom | Jail | http://www.littledeanjail.com | |||||
| L'Orignal Old Jail | Orignal | Ontario | Canada | Jail | |||||
| Louisiana | United States | Prison | "Opening in 1997, the Museum at the Louisiana State Penitentiary was established to preserve the long and storied history of crime, punishment, rehabilitation, criminal justice, and reform in Louisiana."[3] http://angolamuseum.org/The Louisiana State Penitentiary also has an annual Prison Rodeo, which first began in 1965. The first public Angola Prison Rodeo was in 1967.[4] | ||||||
| Moscow | Russia | Prison | On Lubyanka Square | ||||||
| Ludwigsburg | Baden-Württemberg | Germany | Prison | ||||||
| Malacca City | Malacca | Malaysia | Prison | ||||||
| Memorial and Education Centre Andreasstrasse | Erfurt | Thuringia | Germany | Prison | Former Stasi prison, used for holding political prisoners. | ||||
| Mills County Old Jail Museum | Texas | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Missouri State Penitentiary | Jefferson City | Missouri | United States | Prison | |||||
| Crawfordsville | Indiana | United States | Jail | Rotary Jail | |||||
| Tennessee | United States | Jail | |||||||
| Rio de Janeiro | Rio de Janeiro | Brazil | Prison | ||||||
| Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec | Quebec City | Quebec | Canada | Prison | Mostly an art museum | ||||
| León | León Department | Nicaragua | Jail | ||||||
| Tierra del Fuego | Argentina | Prison | http://museomaritimo.com/ | ||||||
| Drenthe | Netherlands | Prison | National Dutch prison museum | ||||||
| Newcastle Gaol Museum | Toodyay | Western Australia | Australia | ||||||
| Norwegian POW Museum | Greater Poland Voivodeship, also known as Wielkopolska Province | Poland | Prison | World War II POW camp | |||||
| Ohio State Reformatory | Mansfield | Ohio | United States | Prison | |||||
| Old Courthouse & Old Jailhouse Museums | Wisconsin | United States | Jail | Operated by Washington County Historical Society, Inc. | |||||
| Old Franklin County Jail in the former Franklin County Jail | Chambersburg | Pennsylvania | United States | Jail | |||||
| Hamilton County Historical Museum in the Old Hamilton County Jail | Florida | United States | Jail | Web page | |||||
| Tolland | Connecticut | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Old City Jail (Mount Dora, Florida) | Mount Dora | Florida | United States | Jail | Currently houses the Royellou Museum. | ||||
| Old Fauquier County Jail | Virginia | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Old Idaho State Penitentiary | Boise | Idaho | United States | Prison | |||||
| 1859 Jail and Museum | Independence | Missouri | United States | Jail | Website | ||||
| Olde Gaol Museum | Lindsay | Ontario | Canada | Jail | Website | ||||
| Old Jail Museum (Albion, Indiana) | Indiana | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Old Jail Museum (Allegan, Michigan) | Michigan | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Old Jail Museum (Barnesville, Georgia) | Georgia | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Old Jail Museum (Canton, Mississippi) | Mississippi | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Old Jail Museum (Conyers, Georgia) in the former Rockdale County Jail | Georgia | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Old Jail Museum (Crawfordsville, Indiana) | Indiana | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Old Jail Museum (Dubuque, Indiana) in the former Dubuque County Jail | Iowa | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Old Jail Museum (Gonzales, Texas) | Texas | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Old Jail Museum (Goochland, Virginia) | Virginia | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Old Jail Museum (Greenwood, Arkansas) | Arkansas | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Old Jail Museum (Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania) | Pennsylvania | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Old Jail Museum (Iola, Kansas) | Kansas | United States | Jail | information | |||||
| Old Jail Museum (Knoxville, Georgia) | Georgia | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Old Jail Museum (Lawrenceburg, Tennessee) | Tennessee | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Old Jail Museum (Smethport, Pennsylvania) | Pennsylvania | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Old Jail Museum (Silverton, Texas) | Texas | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Old Jail Museum (St. Augustine, Florida) in the Old St. Johns County Jail | Florida | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Old Jail Museum (Taylorsville, North Carolina) | North Carolina | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Old Jail Museum (Thompson Falls, Montana) | Montana | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Old Jail Museum (Valparaiso, Indiana) | Indiana | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Old Jail Museum (Winchester, Tennessee) | Tennessee | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Old Joliet Prison | Joliet | Illinois | United States | Prison | |||||
| Old Melbourne Jail | Melbourne | Victoria | Australia | Convict Prison | |||||
| Old Newgate Prison | East Granby | Connecticut | United States | Prison | Former mine/Colonial prison; also spelled "Old New-Gate Prison" | ||||
| Montana | United States | Prison | |||||||
| Old Wilkes Jail (Wilkesboro, North Carolina) | North Carolina | United States | Jail | Tom Dooley of the song "Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley" was held here before his trial. | |||||
| Patarei Prison | Tallinn | Harju County | Estonia | Prison | Official webpage | ||||
| Peter and Paul Fortress | St. Petersburg | St. Petersburg | Russia | Prison | |||||
| Peterhead Prison | Peterhead | Aberdeenshire | Scotland | Convict Prison | |||||
| Pied-du-Courant Prison | Montreal | Quebec | Canada | Prison | |||||
| Port Arthur | Port Arthur | Tasmania | Australia | Convict Prison | |||||
| Council Bluffs | Iowa | United States | Jail | Rotary Jail | |||||
| Presidio Modelo | Nueva Gerona | Isla de la Juventud | Cuba | Prison | |||||
| Qasr Prison (Qasr museum-Qarden) | Tehran | Tehran | Iran | Prison | |||||
| Richard III Museum | York | North Yorkshire | United Kingdom | Prison | Primarily about Richard III, the museum also has a working portcullis, a medieval execution chamber, and a small prison cell | ||||
| Robben Island Museum | Robben Island | Western Cape | South Africa | Prison | |||||
| Sabine County Jail Museum and Vergie Speights Memorial Library | Texas | United States | Jail | ||||||
| San Jacinto County Jail | Texas | United States | Jail | ||||||
| Shepton Mallet Prison | Shepton Mallet | Somerset | United Kingdom | Prison | |||||
| Shrewsbury Prison | Shrewsbury | Shropshire | United Kingdom | Prison | |||||
| Solovetsky Monastery | Solovetsky Islands | Russia | |||||||
| Texas | United States | Prison | |||||||
| Anti-sabotage joint committee Prison (Ebrat Museum of Iran) | Tehran | Tehran | Iran | Prison | |||||
| Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum | Phnom Penh | Cambodia | Prison | ||||||
| Ulucanlar Prison Museum | Altındağ | Ankara | Turkey | Prison | |||||
| West Virginia | United States | Prison | |||||||
| Wicklow | County Wicklow | Republic of Ireland | Prison | Irish National Monument | |||||
| Texas | United States | Jail | |||||||
| Wyoming | United States | Prison | |||||||
| Wyoming | United States | Prison | |||||||
| Yuma Territorial Prison | Yuma | Arizona | United States | Prison |