The oldest surviving jail in the state, the Pauly Jail, erected in 1897, is a three-story red brick structure. The Victorian Gothic style building is almost square in plan and looks like a small donjon or brooding house. The castle-like faade features small projecting square brick turrets with witchs hats (spiked metal caps) at the corners. The entrance is a single door on the ground level. On the third level, a trap door is set in the floor. The door, which could be opened by pushing a lever, was used for hanging condemned prisoners in the early 1900s. Today the jail serves as a museum. It sits behind the 1871 Second Empire Style Courthouse, adjacent to a beautiful landscaped park and gazebo. A restoration of the jail was recently comp leted.
