In 1905, after several previous courthouses had burned down in Waldron, another courthouse was commissioned, and in 1907 a new stone jail was planned to replace its wooden predecessor. J.L. McCartney was chosen to build the new jail and completed it in 1908. After a fire destroyed the courthouse in 1933, a new one was built in 1935 with a third floor designed to serve as the county jail, and the old jail was vacated when the art deco courthouse was completed. With the help of the WPA, the old jail was renovated and converted into the county library, which occupied the building until 1947. After the library moved, the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America sought to occupy the old jail, probably as early as 1949, and continued using it until the 1960’s. During that time, the Boy Scouts added two brick fireplaces, replaced broken glass, maintained the grounds, and painted the building’s interior and exterior. Among the young people who used the building was Federal Judge Billy Roy Wilson. Afterward, the old jail served as the Scott County Department of Juvenile Services, and in 1987 the Scott County Historical and Genealogical Society moved in and has occupied it since. The old jail is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places.