Originally built as a three-story structure in 1912, this building, Cameron County's second jailhouse, was enlarged with the addition of a 4th floor about 1929. The 1912 structure was designed by prominent architect Atlee B. Ayers and the 1929 addition by Ayers and his son and partner Robert Ayers. The building's classical revival style is a distinctive design for this type of resource. A one-story frame building was erected in the courtyard in the 1940s. The building served as Cameron County Jail and Sheriff's Office until 1978.