Cornucopia Jailhouse Listed, Dec. 16

The c.1885 Cornucopia Jailhouse was originally built at the former Allentown site, upslope from Pine Valley, to meet the community’s need to establish and maintain general law-and-order in the quickly-growing gold-mining boom town. Along with Allentown’s residents and buildings, the rustic two-story wood-frame Jailhouse moved upslope and closer to the most productive mines to Cornucopia in 1889. While Cornucopia was not as lawless as many other notorious frontier communities, the Jailhouse was an important institution that fostered stability in a town with numerous saloons and bordellos, and served as a temporary holding place for disorderly citizens and criminals waiting for trial. As the last remaining public building in one of Baker County’s most significant mining communities, the Jailhouse is the key resource representing the history and governance of this former mining community.