Columbia County Jail Inmate Search

The first jail in Columbia County was built with the courthouse in 1786. It was a small annex that included a pillory and a whipping post. There was also a hanging tree for more serious offenses. The entire complex, courthouse and jail, are part of the National Register of Historic Places. The jail that was in place at the courthouse in 1914 had 19 cells, divided into categories for males and females. It was built of brick and was two stories. The building was heated with steam and lighted with electricity. There was a small medical area and a separate area for the prisoners to bathe. The current jail was built in 1998 and there are plans to build a new one that will be used by multiple counties.

On October 22, 1791, Revolutionary War veteran Sheriff Cornelius Hogeboom was serving a writ of ejectment. At the place he was to serve the writ, several men laid an ambush while they were disguised as Native Americans. Hogeboom was killed in the ensuing fight. He is the only known member of county law enforcement that has been killed in the line of duty.

During 1803 and 1804, a case of importance for free speech was decided in Columbia County. Harry Croswell had started a small newspaper called The Wasp with the help of the owner of the Federalist Party leaning paper in the area. In the small paper The Wasp, Croswell made several derogatory remarks against President Thomas Jefferson and his allies. He was arrested under state anti-defamation laws that were similar to the federal Alien and Sedition Acts. Chief Justice of the New York Supreme Court Morgan Lewis presided over the trial that started on July 11, 1803. Croswell was convicted on both charges against him. The case was appealed, but because of disagreements, Croswell was never found innocent. He was never sentenced, though. The libel laws that were in the states took several decades to be fixed to allow people to never again have to be tried for their use of free speech.

Several prominent jurists of early American history saw their start with clients in the Columbia County jail. William Peter Van Ness was an early federal judge and was Aaron Burr's second in his famous duel. Thomas Grosvenor was a member of the New York legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives. President Martin Van Buren had several early clients who were inside the jail.