Grants Awarded

Chaffee County Courthouse and Jail

Chaffee County

The Chaffee County Courthouse and Jail represented law and order in the county from 1882 until 1932, when the county seat was moved from Buena Vista to Salida.

In 1936, the building became part of the public school district (for teaching—not imprisoning—students, naturally), and was used until 1972. The Buena Vista Heritage Museum convinced the town government to accept ownership of the main building, while the school district retained ownership of the expanded gymnasium and the jail. Since that time (and the Buena Vista Heritage Museum’s purchase of the building), the former Chaffee County Courthouse has been used as a museum and events center. The Buena Vista Heritage Museum is using a grant from SHF to fund a historic structure assessment of the entire building, and will produce construction planning documents that will be used to restore the cupola, roof, and gutters.