[1] Designed by architect John Thomas of Fort Worth-based Woerner, Builders, the limestone building was constructed between 1877 and 1878 at a cost in excess of $9,000 (equivalent to $300,000 in 2023).

[1][2] Considered to be state of the art when completed, the jail was in use for over 50 years before it was replaced by a newer building one block west of it in 1929.

[1] In 1940, local author and playwright Robert E. Nail Jr. saved the old jail from demolition buying it for $25 (equivalent to $540 in 2023) and turning it into his writing studio.

[1] Reilly Nail and his cousin Bill Bomar, who was an artist, established the OJAC museum in the old jail building in 1980.

[1][5] Among the more prominent artists whose works are included are Alexander Calder, Francisco Goya, Paul Klee, John Marin, Amedeo Modigliani, Henry Moore, Pablo Picasso, Rembrandt, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Grant Wood.

[2][5] Writing for The Texas Observer, Christopher Collins called the OJAC "one of the best and quirkiest art collections in the state".

[2][5] The museum's Robert E. Nail Jr. Archives contain the personal and professional papers of artists included in the collections as well as genealogical resources.

[2] The OJAC has held exhibitions of the work of artists including Helen Altman, Bill Bomar, Deborah Butterfield, Blanche McVeigh, Linda Ridgway, and Bror Alexander Utter.

[8] Lauren Smart, writing for the Dallas Observer, described the museum as hosting "high caliber exhibitions of artists from across Texas and beyond".