About Us

The Old Nelson County Jail housed prisoners from 1797 till 1987. The front building, sometimes referred to as the “Old Jail” was constructed in 1819. Records indicated that John Rogers, architect of St. Joseph Cathedral, performed certain carpentry on this structure. The upper floor of this native limestone building, with 30 inch thick walls, contained two cells and an “upstairs dungeon” to house prisoners.

The back jail was built in 1874 and is completely surrounded by a stone wall. The front jail was then made into the jailer’s residence. Both the jail and jailer’s residence were used and occupied until 1987. It was the oldest operating jail complex in the state of Kentucky and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

About the Owners

C Paul McCoy has been running the Jailer’s Inn since 1995.  The family originally started the B&B in 1989.  Paul with help from his wife, Kim, have been enjoying the experience of “jail life” and the memories made with the guest, (often referred to as inn-mates).  The two have 2 wonderful boys.

Our Philosophy

Our standards for running a business come from the places we have visited and enjoyed. There are several basic tenets by which we have come to operate.

• Jailer’s Inn is first and foremost a guest accommodation.  We want you to feel at home, but at no time will you feel like you need to tiptoe through someone’s living room. We have visited several Inns, remodeled homes most of the time, where it felt a bit intrusive.  We do have an innkeeper that lives on the premises for your convenience.
• Cleanliness is the golden rule for our employees. We strive for a beautiful and clean establishment.
• We respect our guests’ privacy.
• Our staff works to be the most informed on activities and restaurants in the area; to help advise our guests on the best places to visit.