Clay County Jail
Why it's listed
Built in 1893 on the corner of Main and Broadway in Louisville, this brick building served as the Clay County Jail and the sheriff's home under one roof. It replaced an earlier jail destroyed by fire in 1892 after years of disrepair. The Pauley Jail Building and Manufacturing Company of St. Louis supplied the steel cells, doors, and ceilings, and the concrete floors gave the interior a fireproof design. The sheriff's residence has Queen Anne features such as an asymmetrical shape, a steep hipped roof, gabled dormers, brick stringcourses, and spindlework porches. The cell block holds sixteen prisoners in four cells, with a separate women's area upstairs. The sheriff's wife was paid to cook meals for inmates, and living on site let the sheriff keep constant watch. A 1913 brick power plant that heated the jail and courthouse also contributes to the property. It was recognized for its role in county law enforcement and for its architecture, with a period of significance from 1893 to 1948.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is significant under Criterion A for law, as a county jail that symbolized enforcement of the law and housed both prisoners and the sheriff's family. It also meets Criterion C as a good example of a masonry Queen Anne building, with steel cells and fireproof construction by the Pauley Jail Building and Manufacturing Company of St. Louis.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 98000986, listed August 6, 1998. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 195 Main St., Louisville |
|---|---|
| County | Clay County |
| Listed | August 6, 1998 |
| Reference number | 98000986 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1893-1948 |
| Architect / builder | Pauley Jail Building & Manufacturing Company |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Law |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The 1913 power plant is now used to display agricultural machinery for the Clay County Historical Society, and the property's current function includes a museum. The tops of the chimneys have been removed and some porch elements were removed due to deterioration. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 38.77216, -88.50074 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 98000986.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q16827074
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.