Stylishly and stoutly constructed in 1906, the Old Pickens County Jail replaced Jasper's original rock jail, which had fallen into disrepair by the turn of the century, and served the community until 1981. Dr. William Tate, foreman of the building committee, reported that it had all the modern conveniences, both for the health and good keeping of the prisoners. With its marble front, the jail symbolized the county's early pursuit of law and order as well as the region's number one natural resource. Sheriffs and their families lived in the jail and worked around the clock, with the sheriff's wife cooking meals for family members and inmates, answering the radio, managing paperwork, and trying to shield her younger children from rowdier inmates who yelled into the night and banged the cells. Sheriff Billy Wofford, the last sheriff to live in the jail, said that the prisoners upstairs finally did get to get out, but his family did not.