This former jail was probably designed by Smith, the predominant builder of jails and clerk's offices in Virginia between 1890 and World War I. Before the classical portico (and the wings) was added in the 1930s to the two-story brick building, it was similar to other buildings designed by Smith in Romanesque Revival with a prominent central tower crowned by a pyramidal roof. Originally, the jailor lived in the front section of the building. Now a museum, the building includes the old jail cells.