The pretentious posture of this plump Queen Anne government building belies its original use as the Mecosta County sheriff's residence and jail. Beneath a slate-clad hipped roof with intersecting gables, the two-story symmetrical brick building rests on a rusticated fieldstone foundation, opposite the present county courthouse and jail, in a square reserved for public buildings. Corner oriel turrets on bases embossed with rinceaux and topped with bell-cast roofs surmounted with finials balance the center gable of the main facade. A pedimented wooden porch, whose tympanum is decorated with a floral pattern, protects the main entrance. The sheriff's residence is at the front and the jail in a rear wing. The building was probably designed by Gibbs of Mount Clemens, who did the courthouse that no longer stands.