Construction of the Federal Courthouse was financed in 1898 by private entrepreneurs Joe F. Robinson and A. V. Doak, and the building was leased to the Federal Government, with Judge Hosea Townsend presiding over the court. It was the fourth location for the Federal Courthouse since 1890 and remained in use until the Federal Building on Washington Avenue was built in 1915. The first floor housed the U.S. Commissioner, the U.S. Attorney, the U.S. Marshall, and jury rooms, while the second floor contained the court, judges chambers, witness room, and the Court Clerk's office. West of the court stood a jail divided into two sections by a high stone wall wide enough for two guards to walk on, with guard houses at two corners. One section held male prisoners, and the other held women prisoners, the men's hospital, jail offices, and quarters for the trustees. A well in the back of the prison yard provided water, and beneath the jail a stone dungeon served as the local insane asylum. The jail remained in use until 1904, when the old Carter County Jail was built. Ardmore's designation as a court town brought prosperity to local businesses. In 1896, 100 lawyers were in Ardmore because of the Federal Court's large caseload, each paying a $15.00 permit fee to practice law in the Chickasaw Nation. Cases were heard randomly, with no court docket set, requiring litigants to remain in Ardmore for the months when court was in session until their turn came up. This continued until Statehood in 1907, when much of the caseload came under the jurisdiction of the State District Courts.