Construction of the jail by Casper Cobb began Sept. 9, 1884, and Supervisor John Simpson was credited with pushing its approval through the Board of Supervisors. On Oct. 6, the board accepted the completed building at a cost of $1,153. The jail was used to hold prisoners overnight for transportation to the county seat at Red Bluff, including a rustler who escaped through a hole he beat through the wall and a thief who lifted the front door off its hinges. It also housed many a drunk who needed to sleep it off before walking out its unlocked doors in the morning. The county officially closed the jail in August, 1914.