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In 1988, when author/historian Harriet U. Fish arrived at the Columbia County Sheriff's Office to further her research for her latest work "Law Enforcement in Washington State: The First One-Hundred Years 1889-1989" she was amazed at what she found.
When the door was opened to the Columbia County Jail, she exclaimed, "Do you folks realize what you have here?!" Through Fish's research, she determined the jail's cell block had been manufactured in 1874 by the P.J. Pauly and Brother's Jail Manufacturing Company of St. Louis, MO. According to Fish, there are only two specimens of this model still in existence on the west coast of the United States...one is in a museum in California, and Columbia County has the other one... and ours is still in use!
The cell block contains four jail cells. Each cell contains two bunks, allowing the Columbia County Jail to house a total of eight inmates. Plans are now in progress to add four more bunks, bringing the jail's total population capacity to 12. Records indicate that the cell block was originally a ship's brig that was purchased used at a cost of $2,000.00, which was placed on the foundation of the courthouse during construction in 1887, with the building then being built around it. To this day, large brass skeleton keys are still used to secure the cell blocks and the main entrance door. 
Some more modern features such as electromagnetic locks, closed circuit observation cameras, phones and a television have been added over the years, but the original design of the jail remains the same. And yes, our inmates all wear black and white striped jail clothing!
JAIL VISITATION HOURS
Tuesdays 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
Thursdays 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
All visitors must have valid picture identification and
must be 18 years of age or be accompanied by a
parent or legal guardian. No exceptions.
FINGERPRINTING
We provide fingerprinting services to the public for the purposes
of employement and concealed weapon permit (CWP) applications.
Cost for CPL fingerprinting is $55.25
Cost for all other fingerprinting is $10.00
Fingerprinting is conducted on Mondays between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.
and Wednesdays between 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Exact amount in cash encourage, or check made out to Columbia County Treasurer.