When the Hamilton County Jail, then called the Hamilton County Justice Building, was dedicated on Jan. 15, 1976, Tennessee’s governor, two United States senators, the 3rd District congressman and dignitaries of every stripe were on hand.
The $8 million building, called a “magnificent structure” and “ultra modern” and boasting of what was said to be the second largest electronic surveillance in the nation, offered public tours for several weeks.
Its dedication, in the year the country was celebrating its 200th anniversary, was included as a Tennessee Bicentennial event.
When Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond said that the last inmate would be moved from the jail to Silverdale Detention Center today, the announcement was made in a news release from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department.
We don’t like to call attention to our jails like we used to, do we?