For nearly 200 years, the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center was located on the same corner at Church Street and Edwards Ferry Road in Leesburg. During the past two weeks the old Adult Detention Center was demolished to make room for a parking area and possible future expansion of the Loudoun Courts Complex.

The first known jail in Loudoun County was agreed to be built in 1758. The county approved to pay Daniel French to build the gaol (an early Modern English spelling for jail) and stocks for 83 pounds.

The county negligently provided French with either little or poor information regarding the construction of the jail. By Nov. 14, 1759, a report of appointed gentleman found the jail not sufficient. Sheriff Aeneas Campbell, who served Loudoun County from 1757 to 1759, deemed the jail in Leesburg unsafe and badly built.

In 1814, a new jail was built on Church Street and Edwards Ferry Road near the courthouse property. This would be the same site for a Loudoun jail for nearly 200 years. The jail built at this location was said to be two stories tall and had six quarters, two for debtors and four for inmates. That jail would be demolished in 1888 for another jail.

According to an article in The Washingtonian, the jail built in 1888 contained a parlor, dining room, kitchen and three steel cages with two cells on the first floor. The second floor had three chambers.

In 1955 the jail was replaced again.

I think it looks very good, for a jail, said then Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Irvey W. Baker, who was quoted in a Loudoun Times-Mirror article.

The jail was expanded in 1970 to hold 63 inmates. This facility was used to house Loudoun County inmates until June 16, 2007. On that day, 95 inmates were transferred to a new state-of-the-art Adult Detention Center just off of Sycolin Road.

The new adult detention center had a capacity to hold 220 inmates when it opened last summer. The Loudoun County Sheriffs Office is currently responsible for more than 500 inmates. Due to spacing issues, a majority of the inmates are transported to other facilities in the region.

Construction of a second phase recently began to expand the facility to house an additional 240 inmates. The Phase II expansion is expected to be completed by 2011.