Vermillion County’s first county jail was built in 1828 of logs at the southwest corner of the courthouse lawn, a second jail was built in 1836 of brick, and a third jail and sheriff’s residence were built in 1868 of brick in the Italianate style. The 1868 structure became only the sheriff’s residence when a jail addition of rusticated stone in the Romanesque Revival style was built in 1896. The facility ceased operation in 1992, has been owned by the Vermillion County Historical Society since 1992, and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. County jails were first established in 1792 under the laws of the Northwest Territory and continued under the laws of Indiana Territory and the state constitutions of 1816 and 1851.