The Tragic End of Tom Tillery

The metal jail cells of the Old Jail as seen in the early 80s.

Many a ghost hunter have claimed they've encountered spirits of the dead in the Old Pickens County Jail on Main Street in Jasper. Reports and rumors abound of the death of two prisoners hung by the gallows. Official reports emphatically state that no prisoner was ever executed from the gallows during the seventy plus years the jail was operational. And yet, newspapers from the 80s made the claim that two prisoners died of their own use of the gallows. No names were given.

In the 1940s, Mrs. Fannie Blackwell Kent attempted suicide twice in her cell, unsuccessfully. And then in the late 50s, Joan Welch from Ellijay also failed at taking her own life in her cell.

The same could not be said for Tom Tillery, a man who in his struggled with mental illness. In the summer of 1921, Mr. Tillery, 52, a well known farmer from West Pickens, had been preyed upon by a bad business deal and couldn't stop dwelling on it. His physical health was in decline and he suffered from what we would define today as a mental breakdown. On May 29, he attempted to burn down his house. Afterward, he grabbed and axe and a razor and threatened to harm his family. The neighbors, hearing the commotion, called the sheriff and Tom was judged to be insane the next day. He was subsequently booked at the Pickens County Jail (at the time the jail only about 14 years old - so it wasn't called the Old Jail at the time.)

The metal cells in The Old Pickens Jail around Halloween, 2024

The final day, May 31, while waiting in his cell, Tom tied one end of his overall suspenders to the metal frame above the iron cell door and wrapped the other around his neck. Because the height wasn't sufficient to choke him, Tom bent at the knees to complete the act. Sheriff Poole discovered his lifeless body and he was taken to Jerusalem Baptist Church to be buried.

At times before he died, Tom would have moments of clarity in which he told the authorities he wanted them to protect his loved ones from himself. They believed his mental state would improve with time and he would be okay. Tom thought otherwise.

Tom Tillery's grave at Jerusalem Baptist Church