Calling their old jail unsafe, unfit, and inadequate, the Austin County Court contracted in 1896 with Pauly Jail Building Co. of St. Louis to erect this structure at a cost of $19,970. Its Romanesque Revival style, with crenelated parapets, bartizans, and stone window arches, harmonized with the 1886 courthouse, which later burned. The gallows, used only in 1901, have been removed, and the jailer's quarters have been enlarged, but the original exterior is preserved.