Through the years, Meriwether County has had four county jail buildings, 2 of which are still standing today. The newest building is still in use and the older has been entered into the National Register of Historic Sites. Both of the first two jails were made from hewn timber and sheet iron with the second one being more complex in design as it's specifications were ordered by the then "Meriwether County Inferior Court". The sight of that second jail was the corner of Williams St. and College St. in Greenville, however, in 1893 a cyclone severely damaged the building and a location closer to the courthouse was chosen to rebuild. In 1896, the county jail was again built, at it's new location, and this time with the use of red bricks instead of timber. The new jail was a 3 story building which housed a prison area, Sheriff's Office, living quarters and a hanging tower. The jail housed both male and female prisoners and at one point had a screened-in front porch that the deputies loved to "hang out" on and listen to stories of days gone by. According to Meriwether County locals, there was only one hanging held in the tower...the names and dates are not rememebered but a man was supposedly hanged for the murder of his pregnant wife/girlfriend, she was 7 months along...the baby also died, as well as the toddler that she was holding when he opened fire with a shotgun. The ring that held the hanging rope and the trap door in the tower floor are still intact to this day. This jail was also the place that Wilson Turner spent the last few days of his life(1948) before being set free to meet his death at the hands of John Wallace, thus launching the well known book and later movie, "Murder in Coweta County".