Turner County Jail

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

From the record

“Turner County Jail, also known as Turner Castle and now the Crime and Punishment Museum, and home to The Last Meal Cafe, is a historic jail building in Ashburn, Georgia. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.”
Wikipedia article Turner County Jail, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 6 National Register listings published here for Turner County · listed in 1982 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
Address. 200 College St., Ashburn, 31714
When was it listed? August 1982
Category. building
Also known as. County Jails of Ben Hill, Berrien, Brooks, and Turner Counties TR
Census division. Ashburn-Sycamore
Architectural style. Romanesque Revival architecture
National Register reference number. 82002490 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

523 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 523 fires within 5 miles of Turner County Jail between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,230 acres in total. 19 started naturally. 70 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Debris and open burning	293
Equipment and vehicle use	98
Arson/incendiarism	70
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	22
Natural	19
Misuse of fire by a minor	6
Recreation and ceremony	6
Smoking	6
Railroad operations and maintenance	3

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
8 September 2005	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	not named
8 September 1999	Equipment and vehicle use	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	not named
8 September 1999	Equipment and vehicle use	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	not named
8 September 1997	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	not named
7 September 1997	Natural	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	not named
30 September 2006	Recreation and ceremony	4.8 acres	Georgia Forestry Commission	not named
26 September 2019	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	FY2020TURNER009
24 September 2012	Recreation and ceremony	2.3 acres	Georgia Forestry Commission	FY2013-TURNER-003

Every fire recorded in Turner County

Storms near this property

54 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ashburn, the town this property stands in, in 54 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 34 thunderstorm wind, 12 hail, 3 flood, 3 flash flood. The reports record 1 death and 3 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
December 2007	Tornado (EF1)	Ashburn	1 killed, $1,250,000	A tornado touched down just southwest of Ashburn and tracked northeast through the city. Numerous trees were toppled, with several on top of houses and vehicles. Four mobile homes were destroyed and 39 frame homes were damaged. The tornado's winds twisted steel beams and tore the roofs off of two peanut warehouses. Numerous businesses were damaged. The tornado snapped the tops of pine trees just northeast of Ashburn. A semi traveling north on Interstate 75 near mile marker 83 was blown into an embankment. The driver was killed on impact.
July 2004	Lightning	Ashburn	2 hurt	Two persons were injured by lightning. Several fires were ignited by lightning. Reported by the Turner County Sheriff.
December 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	1 hurt, $20,000	One person was injured when their single-wide trailer overturned. Reported by the Turner County EMA.
February 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$500,000	A grain silo was destroyed. Several buildings were blown off their foundations. Several trees were uprooted. Sixty-two structures sustained damage to shingles and roofs.
May 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$80,000	Numerous trees down and roof blown off courthouse reported by Turner County EMA.
June 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$50,000	Twenty to thirty trees were blown down in Ashburn with numerous power outages.
February 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$30,000	Thunderstorm winds blew a carport 150 feet partially destroying it. A large tree was blown 100 feet. Numerous tree limbs were also blown onto power lines.
April 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$10,000	Two trees fell on two vehicles.
July 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$10,000	A few downed trees and power lines. A roof was blown off a shed. Reported by the Turner County Sheriff.
April 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$6,000	A few trees and power lines were blown down in Ashburn. The monetary damage figure provided is a rough estimate.
August 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$5,000	Trees were blown down on Highway 112 with some reports of roof damage.
February 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$5,000	The Turner County EMA reported numerous downed trees throughout the county.
July 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$5,000	Downed trees and power lines reported by the Turner County Sheriff.
July 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$4,000	Trees were blown down across the county. Monetary damage was estimated.
March 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$4,000	no account filed
May 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$3,000	Trees and power lines were blown down.
April 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$3,000	Trees were blown down, including some trees on power lines.
April 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$3,000	In the Ashburn area, one tree was uprooted and blocked a road, one power line was blown down, and one cable line was blown down.
January 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$3,000	Several trees were blown down around Ashburn on four different roads. Monetary damage was estimated.
July 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$3,000	Trees were blown down along Highway 112 near Ashburn. Monetary damage was estimated.
May 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$2,000	Several power lines were down in Ashburn.
July 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$2,000	Several trees were down. A wooden shelter was damaged.
April 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$1,000	Downed trees reported by the Turner County EMA.
June 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$1,000	Two dozen cedar and pine trees were snapped or uprooted around GA Highway 112.
March 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$1,000	no account filed
July 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$500	A tree was blown down on Peacock Road.
July 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$500	A few trees and utility poles were down.
August 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	$500	Several trees were uprooted and blown across Georgia Highway 32, which also downed a few power lines.
March 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	-	A tree was blown down on Grand Street and Hudson Ave.
January 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	-	Trees were blown down in Turner county.
May 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	-	A tree was blown down near the intersection of Highway 41 North and Warwick Highway.
July 2024	Flash Flood	Ashburn	-	Water was reported over the roadway on Pate Ave.
July 2024	Flash Flood	Ashburn	-	Water was reported over the roadway on Pineknot Road.
September 2024	Flash Flood	Ashburn	-	A structure on Pate Street had a couple of inches of water in it due to flash flooding.
August 2022	Flood	Ashburn	-	Minor flooding was reported about 2 miles southwest of Ashburn on Highway 112.
March 2020	Flood	Ashburn	-	Flooding was reported on Stanford Road.
March 2020	Flood	Ashburn	-	Flooding was reported on Hodge King Road and West End.
March 2019	Hail	Ashburn	-	A second round of quarter size hail occurred in Ashburn.
January 2017	Hail	Ashburn	-	Quarter size hail was reported near Ashburn.
January 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	-	Trees were blown down on Highway 159.
January 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	-	Multiple trees were blown down and a small trampoline was tangled in power lines in Ashburn.
July 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	-	A tree was blown down on Monroe Road near GA Highway 112.
March 2015	Hail	Ashburn	-	Several pictures were posted on social media of large hail in Ashburn. The hail mostly covered the ground.
April 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	-	Several trees were blown down around Ashburn.
April 2009	Hail	Ashburn	-	Marble to nickel size hail was reported.
April 2002	Hail	Ashburn	-	Golfball size hail reported by the Turner County EMA.
November 1997	Hail	Ashburn	-	Reports of golfball size hail from Dakota and Worth to Ashburn and Amboy.
June 2025	Hail	Ashburn	-	no account filed
March 2024	Hail	Ashburn	-	no account filed
April 2020	Hail	Ashburn	-	no account filed
March 2019	Hail	Ashburn	-	no account filed
April 2017	Hail	Ashburn	-	no account filed
April 2017	Hail	Ashburn	-	no account filed
May 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Ashburn	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Turner County

Newspapers printed here

2,461 digitised pages

1 paper published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read: 307 issues, 2,461 pages. Every page is searchable, so a name or a street can be looked for directly in what the town printed about itself at the time.

Newspaper	Published
The Wiregrass Farmer and Stockman	190? to 1984

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

5 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
Turner County Courthouse	under 500 feet	1980
Ashburn Commercial Historic District	0.2 miles	1992
Wesleyan Methodist Campground and Tabernacle	0.3 miles	1998
Ashburn Heights-Hudson-College Avenue Historic District	0.4 miles	1992
Shingler Heights Historic District	0.5 miles	1992

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 82002490 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Turner County	All 6 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.