In 1901, Brown County commissioners determined that their 1881 jail no longer met the county's needs, and voters authorized bonds for a new facility. The commissioners hired Martin, Moodie and Co. of Comanche, Texas, in partnership with the Youngblood Brothers, and local contractor William Hood served as construction superintendent. Completed in 1903, the Brown County Jail was designed to convey the security of an ancient fortress and remains one of the best surviving examples of this design in Texas. Its castle-like character appears in its rusticated stone, castellated roofline, corner turrets, and wide Romanesque Revival arches. English stonemasons William F. and Albert Morton used local sandstone for the exterior stonework, and their craftsmanship appears in other Brownwood structures as well. The interior steelwork was designed by D.F. Youngblood of San Antonio and his brothers from Troy, Alabama, who later founded the Southern Steel Company, a notable builder of prisons and manufacturer of prison equipment. The first floor contained living quarters for the sheriff and jailer. By 1981, the building no longer met modern jail standards and ceased to serve as a jail. Revitalized as a county museum, it remains an important part of Brown County's architectural heritage.