Planning for the new courthouse-jail complex in Franklin began after the 1879 general election concluded the county seat would move there from Calvert.

As planned by Austin architect Frederick Ernst Ruffini, the site was to be on the main public square.

The original mansard roof was removed in favor of modernizing the building with a flat, Mission-type facade.

[4] Additional remodeling works occurred in 1973 as part of a $500,000 plan to repair and restore several features.

The roof—which was demolished in 1924 but restored in 2014—features corner pavilions and a central tower topped by mansard roofs inset with galvanized iron dormers.

This article about a property in Texas on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub.