Cheyenne County Jail
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Eastern Colorado Historical Society Museum (Cheyenne County Jail)
1894, Robert S. Roeschlaub. 85 W. 2nd St. (NR)
This forbidding brick fortress embodies the concept of law and order, functioning as an unmistakable symbol as well as a place of imprisonment. A Romanesque Revival structure with an octagonal two-story tower and irregular plan, it has heavy brick corbeling and chimneys. The Citizens Brick Company of Cheyenne Wells constructed the building, which in 1905 was covered with stucco scored to resemble large stone blocks. Interior spaces include the sheriff's living quarters and office, steel men's and women's cells installed in 1937, a lean-to addition (1920s), and a restored carriage house. Robert Roeschlaub, a versatile Denver architect who specialized in institutional structures, also designed a now-demolished jail for neighboring Lincoln County. In 1961, after the county built a new jail, the Cheyenne Wells Business and Professional Women converted this unique landmark to a museum.
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