Pentitiary Fire Morgue

The morgue at the Ohio State Fairgrounds from the Penitentiary fire in 1930.

Reference
Ohio Historical Society, . "Ohio Penitentiary Fire-Ohio History Central-A product of the Ohio Historical Society." (2010): n. pag. Web. 12 Apr 2010. http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/image.php?rec=558&img=969

1930 Ohio Penitentiary Fire

Fire of 1930 and the Aftermath

On April 21, 1930, the Ohio Penitentiary unfortunately made history in a few ways. In the early evening, a fire broke out at the prison taking the lives of 322 inmates. The fire was the worst in Ohio history and in prison history as well. Inmates died from flames of the fire and from poisonous gases given off from the burning lumber.

The cause of the fire was from a candle igniting some oily rags on the roof of the West Block shortly after inmates were locked into their cells for the evening. The perpetrator of the igniting of the fire is debated. On one side, guards say three inmates started the fire to create a distraction in order to escape. To help prove their point, two of the three accused committed suicide a few months later. On the other hand, people feel the fire was an accident and that officials were pointing the blame to prisoners to keep the heat off them because of how poorly the prison was ran.

No matter the cause, the prison was overcrowded and prisoners were moved out to a prison farm in London, Ohio. At the time of the fire, the Ohio Penitentiary had doubled its holding capacity. This led to the state legislature to take matters into their own hands and create the Ohio Parole Board in 1931. The board released thousands of prisoners within a short time.

Reference
Ohio Historical Society, . "Ohio Penitentiary Fire-Ohio History Central-A product of the Ohio Historical Society." (2010): n. pag. Web. 12 Apr 2010.
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec558&nm=Ohio-Penitentiary-Fire


The Site Today -

Ohio State Penitentiary after 1979

The "Pen" opened in 1834 and, after the last prisoners were removed from the Ohio State Penitentiary in 1984, the building and grounds were left vacant for nearly 10 years. In 1995, the city of Columbus bought the old penitentiary and decided to clear the land for new development. The grounds were demolished in 1998 and a parking garage was later built on the site for the new Nationwide Arena Complex in 2000.


In 1977, the 22-acre spread of the Old Ohio Penitentiary was in a state of deterioration. In the background, One Nationwide Plaza stands tall as the beginning of urban revitalization slowly comes to the Arena District.

Further deterioration and falling walls led to the first demolishing of the Ohio Pen in 1994 after part of the outer wall fell and crushed two parked cars. After demolition, the forsaken plot that formerly held the Ohio Pen was waiting for further development in 1997.


Reference

Nationwide Reality Investors. (2006). The Arena District: A Neighborhood 170 Years in the Making. Columbus, OH: Michelle Chippas.

"Ohio Penitentiary." Ohio History Central - An Online Encyclopedia of Ohio History. Ohio Historical Society, 2010. Web. 21 Apr. 2010.

Frances H. Casstevens' "Out of the Mouth of Hell: Civil War Prisons and Escapes"

Ohio State Penitentiary

Nickname: Castle Merion
Established: 1863
Types of Prisoners: non-military criminals, political prisoners, and some of John Hunt Morgan's Confederate cavalry officers

Site:
Construction began in 1830 and it opened as a prison in 1834. It was a three-story building with an exterior made of "hammered limestone." By the 1860's, the Ohio Penitentiary was considered "seriously overcrowded and antiquated."

Cells:
Each cell was 3.5 feet wide, 7 feet long, and 7 feet high. The back wall of each cell had a 3-4 inch air hole. The cells were arranged in tiers called "ranges" and each opened onto balconies that were 3 feet wide. The walls were made of brick and and the doors were a latticework of 2 inch iron bars that opened outward. The cell block was 100 feet long, 20 feet wide, and 40 feet high. The exterior limestone walls were 11 feet away from the cell block. There were 5 levels of cells, with 35 cells on each level. A massive, 4 feet thick and 25 feet high wall surrounded the entire prison. Turrets were located upon it for the guards to view the prison grounds.

Reference
Casstevens, Frances H. "Ohio State Penitentiary." Out of the Mouth of Hell. Jefferson: McFarland and Company, 2005. 137-52. Print.

The Beginning

- Ohio achieved statehood in the year of 1803.

- Search began for a permanent capital.

- Four landowners from east of Scioto River constructed a proposal to the legislature of the state of Ohio.

The proposal

- The authors of the proposal were central Ohio landowners Lyne Starling, John Kerr, Alexander McLaughlin, and James Johnston

- They offered land of over 1,200 acres, to the state of Ohio for governmental use

- Including a request for $50,000 in funds to erect a state house, offices, and “such other buildings as shall be directed by the legislature”

- The proposal included funds for a penitentiary to be built on this land

- Starling, Kerr, McLaughlin and Johnston called for the penitentiary and dependencies to be completed on or before January 1815.

Reference

"Item Description." DMC- OhioLINK Digital Media Center. Web. 25 May 2010. http://worlddmc.ohiolink.edu/OMP/NewDetails?oid=1137845

Booklist

Out of the mouth of hell" : Civil War prisons and escapes / Frances H. Casstevens
E615 .C37 2005
THO Stacks

Profit and penitence : an administrative history of the Ohio Penitentiary from 1815 to 1885 / by Dona M. Reaser
THE:HIT1998PHDR427
THO 2nd Floor Microform Theses

A statistical analysis of population data for 500 recent entrants to Ohio penitentiary, by D. J. Bonzo, chief clerk and statistician
HV8355 .A6 1929 c.4
OSU Book Depository

Prison reform. Report of special commission appointed by Governor James M. Cox .
HV8355 .A7 1913
OSU Book Depository

Report of the Special committee of the seventy-seventh General Assembly of Ohio appointed to investigate penitentiary buildings, management and convict labor, to his excellency, A.L. Harris, governor
HV8355 .A4 1908
OSU Book Depository

As it were : stories of old Columbus / Ed Lentz
F499.C757 L46 1998 c.2
ARC Perm Reserve

Columbus, America's crossroads / by Betty Garrett, with Edward R. Lentz
F499.C7 G27 c.5
ARC Books 5th Floor

Columbus Vignettes [by] Bill Arter
F499.C7 A7 v.3 c.2
ARC Books 5th Floor

The Arena District : a neighborhood 170 years in the making

The historical and illustrated Ohio Penitentiary : a complete work on the big prison--all departments, the manfacturing industries, escapes, famous prisoners, executions by hanging and electrocution, punishments, rules, etc. : fully described word and pen sketches of the greatest penal institution in the world / by Marvin E. Fornshell
HV9475.O4 F7 1911x
State Lib Ohio use only

Five years in hell, or, The Ohio Penitentiary / by Orange L. Pettay
HV9475.O4 P5
State Lib Ohio use only

Architecture Columbus 2005 / AIA Columbus, a Chapter of the American Institute of Architects
NA2340 .A73 2005
ARC Room 400E use only