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This is the oldest continuously used public building in the state of Colorado. Sheriff William Z. Cozens built it at the insistence of his wife, Mary York, who was tired of having inmates handcuffed to furniture in their home. Cozens used hand-hewn logs to construct a jail (1862) and a courtroom (1864). Washington Hall has served as courthouse, jail, recorders and clerks offices, public meeting house, city council chamber, and Fire Department headquarters. Currently, Gilpin Arts and Gilpin Historical Society occupy the building.
