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Location: Behind the Fulton Theatre at 2 North Water Street. 40°02’16.9″N 76°18’30.7″W.
Challenge: Take a photograph of yourself standing in front of the green doors marking the entrance to the old county jail.
History Brief: In 1835, Lancaster County Sheriff “Devil Dave” Miller helped three prisoners escape from the jail that once stood on this location.
Rest of the Story: Before becoming the Fulton Theatre, this location was home to the county jail. The stone foundation along Water Street is all that remains of the former prison.
“Devil Dave” Miller was one of Lampeter’s most famous native sons. He was noted for being both amiable and eccentric. Miller served as the Lancaster County Sheriff in the 1830s. He had been elected to his post running on an Anti-Mason platform. Miller was a humanitarian and an avid horseman who suppressed race riots against Blacks. He was also a military veteran, early railroad entrepreneur, and owned a hotel.
Part of Miller’s notoriety came in 1834 while serving as Lancaster County Sheriff. On one occasion, he returned a bench warrant by riding his horse up the courthouse’s steps and then down the courtroom’s main aisle, where he dismounted in front of the bench and presented the documents to Judge Lewis in person.
It was in the following year when Miller helped three prisoners escape.
As it turned out, bounty hunters had abducted two formerly enslaved women and one of their sons as runaways who had been living here in rural Lancaster County. They were held in jail while waiting for transport to the Carolinas. However, before this could happen, Miller opened their cell one night and let the trio walkout.
The women told sympathizers that they escaped using a butter knife to pick the lock to “cover” for Miller’s involvement. It wasn’t until years later that he admitted his part in the escape as an active supporter of the Underground Railroad.
Home | Thaddeus Stevens’ Tomb | Water Street Bindery | Devil Dave | Second Oldest Clock | Soldiers & Sailors Monument | The Grape | Moravian Church Cemetery | Andrew Ellicott | Staircase | Claiming Your Prize