The image of medieval castles and fortifications, often used in late-nineteenth-century American jail designs, finds no more compelling expression in Texas than the former Brown County Jail. The rock-faced limestone facility was built by Martin and Moodie, builders who specialized in county courthouses and jails and who were known for copying works that were not their design. Hence the question of attribution is clouded, for the jail may be the work of J. Riely Gordon, noted for his use of Richardsonian Romanesque; Gordon prepared a design for the Duval County Jail that matched this building but was not built. In association with Martin and Moodie on the project was the Troy, Alabama, firm of Youngblood Brothers, whose principals had been trained at the Pauly Jail Building Company of St. Louis.
The main body of the jail, a three-story rectangle (tall windows on the second story conceal the third floor within), is fronted by a four-story section with arched first-floor openings and a stepped gable. Attached to it is a five-story square tower. The building’s corners are accented with bartizans, and the parapet, including gables, is crenellated. The entire composition is exceptionally picturesque and forbidding. In contrast to the ancient, fortress-like qualities of the exterior, the jail’s interior was planned to follow the most modern concepts of prison reform. The arrangement of cells was based on the Auburn System, reflecting different security needs and prisoner groups. The jail served until 1981. It was subsequently leased to the Brown County Historical Society for use as a museum.