This structure served as the jail in the town of Fort Griffin near the United States Army post of Fort Griffin, which defended the frontier from 1867 to 1881. During that period lawlessness was common in the town. Citizens built this thick-walled jail in 1878, although a conspicuous stone bears an earlier date. Gamblers, trail drivers, buffalo hunters, and skinners were frequently held here, sometimes as many as 18 at one time. After the 1880s it was used as a cowshed.