The original building was apparently already in existence in 1890 when it was converted to use as a gaol for the mining village of Florida. The structure was enlarged by three cells and an office shortly before the turn of the 20th century, when a wall was also built around its courtyard. At the same time the complex also acquired a house for the chief gaoler. It was declared a National Monument under old NMC legislation on 23 September 1988.The property together with the Old Goal and Prison Warder's House thereon, described as The Record’s Historic Hauntings team chose the old jail house on the corner of Goldman Street and Seventh Avenue in Florida to be the scene of the latest ghost hunt.
The question on all our minds was “Would this building’s history reveal some ghostly residents?” The jail was built over a century ago and is one of the few buildings from the Zuid-Afrikaanse Republiek (ZAR) era still in existence in Roodepoort. The small size of the three cells, as well as the fact that the warden’s house was on the same property, is an indication of just how close-knit the small community was. The building was split in two, with an open courtyard in the middle. One passage leads to the cells, which consist of thick solid doors and small barred windows, surrounded by high walls that would have prevented any prisoners from escaping. As the population rose, it became clear that a prison with only three cells would no longer suffice, so a larger prison was built – leaving the Florida jail redundant. The building was used as holding cells for a short while before the South African Red Cross Society moved in. The building was declared a nNtional Monument and Heritage Site in 1985.
