Watch: Was there a ghost in the cell?
See what the Record team's visit turned up
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?”
Read more: Historic Hauntings: Is there a ghost in the cell?
The visit was arranged for the evening of 25 April, and the team was excited, but also a little apprehensive to start the adventure.
From the word go, the psychic and clairvoyant, Josh, was very excited. “This building has a lot of activity and energies,” he said.
Before entering the building, he took a photo of one of the windows. In this photo, a face can be seen peering out of the window. The tour of the building delivered results from the first step through the front door. In the last room, at the back of the building, the spirit of a woman was encountered. When Josh entered the small room, he could immediately feel her presence. “I asked her to give us an indication that she is here by moving something,” he said. While waiting in the room, the energy complied with his request, and a lone cup started moving. This cup was one in a row of hanging cups, and what made the experience unique, is that, with no wind or interference from any of the human visitors, it was the only one that moved consistently. “She says her name is Sarah Elizabeth Jennings. She has been here for many years, and sees this as her safe place. She is not a mean spirit, and there is no reason for me to ask her to leave,” Josh said. He also mentioned another lingering spirit in the building, and described him as a tall man in a police uniform with a surname sounding like ‘Meyer’.
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 national monument and heritage site in 1985.
There are quite a few rumours about the jail, its occupants and the warden’s house (which is situated about 50 metres down Seventh Avenue). Some say that there is a tunnel from the jail to the warden’s house, that was used for various activities.
It is also said that the British Colonial statesman, Doctor Leander Starr Jameson, was held in this prison after his unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the boer government in December 1895.
The Record spoke to Rod Kruger, a historian from Kloofendal, to find out if these claims were true.
“This building does not have a particularly significant history but it is one of Roodepoort’s oldest buildings. I have found no evidence of the supposed tunnel leading to the warden’s house and the story about Jameson is also a myth.
“He was never detained at this prison – he was brought from Krugersdorp, through Magaliesburg, and taken directly to the Pretoria prison,” Rod said.
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