Built in the 1890's north of the Capitol Well, the National Jail and the jailor's home served the Chickasaw Nation after the Chickasaw Constitution established the National Jail in 1857, though where prisoners had been held before this facility was built remains unclear. The jailor housed offenders found guilty of crimes against the Chickasaw Nation but did not carry out sentences, as that duty belonged to a sheriff or constable. Punishments ranged from lashes, delivered at a whipping tree believed to have stood in this area, to death sentences carried out on gallows near the jail. The jailor was required to live within sight of the jail, feed prisoners, provide water three times a day, keep the jail clean, perform duties incumbent on the sheriff or constable, keep the Capitol keys, prevent unauthorized entry during vacation term, clean the Capitol before and after legislative meetings, district court hearings, elections, and religious services, oversee inmate work projects around the Capitol, and remain accountable for furniture and other property in both the Capitol and the jail.