The History of the Wayne County Jail

Your Links to the Past

Michael L. Franks

August 27, 2019

History of the Wayne County Jail

Wayne County, Ohio, named for Revolutionary War Brigadier General “Mad” Anthony Wayne, was formed in 1796, as part of the Northwest Territory which originally took in parts of Ohio and several of our neighboring states. At that time, Detroit (Michigan) was the county seat. When the state of Ohio was formed, in 1803, the Wayne County we know, today, still did not exist. It wasn't until 1812, that Wayne County became a reality, reorganized by the state legislature. At that time, it had but one township, Killbuck, and included parts of (present-day) Ashland and Holmes Counties. Holmes County was formed in 1825, and Ashland County was formed in 1846, leaving the Wayne County we know, today.

The need for a county jail was realized early on, and the county commissioners, Oliver Jones, Samuel Mitchell and Robert McClaran, struck a deal with Benjamin Jones, to build one. He was to build the jail on lot #57, in the city of Wooster. It was agreed upon that the building would be completed no later than the 1st day of May, 1817, at a total cost of $1,311. One third was to be paid to Jones upon signing the contract. Another third upon completion of room #2, and the the final third at the completion of the project.

On August 7, 1817, the commissioners met, and released this statement, “The commissioners do hereby to accept of the jail erected by Benjamin Jones in the town of Wooster, Wayne County, Ohio, as being agreeable to his agreement with them”.

This building was constructed of timber, largely taken from the old “Fort Stidger” blockhouse, named for General George Stidger, of Canton. It was 26 feet, square, and placed 40 feet from the north-west corner of lot #57. The foundation was stone, laid in lime and sand mortar. The floor was oak planks, laid on sleepers of sufficient quantity. It was one story, with eleven foot ceilings. The gable ends were weather-boarded, and it was covered with a shingle roof. There were four doors, each four inches thick, and all hung on three massive iron hinges. Each door had “a good, strong lock on the inside and the outside”.

The first prisoner, in the first Wayne County Jail, was, according to B. Douglass, Thomas Porter. He was notorious for escaping jail, and “other service.”

A trip to the office of Wayne County Recorder was needed to pinpoint the location of Lot #57. It was a long, narrow lot, that is bounded South Market Street, on the east side, the alley between South Street and Henry Street, on the south side, the alley between Market Street and Walnut Street, on the west side, and lot #58, on the north side. Today, that is the parking lot, just north of Wooster Appliance Center, in Wooster.

The first Wayne County Jail was immediately north of the alley, north of Wooster Appliance Center.

The second jail is only briefly discussed by Douglass. He describes it as a “solid, dungeon-like structure.” He goes on to note that it burned on December 18, 1863, when Joshua Wilson was Sheriff. At that time, there were two inmates, a boy named John Bowers, and Isaac Wiler, who was accused of attempting to kill his wife. In a Wooster Daily Republican article, dated December 24, 1863, the fire destroyed everything except the stone walls. The belief at the time was that one of the inmates started the fire. The jail was built in 1839, and cost $20,000.

An advertisement in the April 16, 1863 edition of the Wooster Daily Republican reads,”Drs. J.D. Robison & T.A. Smurr have associated themselves for the practice of medicine & surgery. Office north-east corner of the public square, opposite the jail, Wooster, O”. So that would put the 2nd jail on the south-east corner of the public square, where Gallery in the Vault used to be.

The second Wayne County Jail was located where the Westfield Bank is, today

Perhaps surprisingly, the third jail, was also only briefly discussed by Douglass, in his epic Wayne County History. His only note is that it is located on the corner of North Walnut and North Street, and that it had, “one of the finest edifices of its kind in the State, and is constructed of brick, stone and iron, at great cost and a view of solidity, permanence and security”.

That third jail is still there. It is one of Wooster's, and Wayne County's, “Links to the Past”.

The third Wayne County Jail still stands, at the NE corner of North and Walnut Streets

It was built in 1865, and served as Wayne County's jail for over 100 years. It housed the county police, as well as most of the county's criminals. Notoriously, it was the site of the county's first, and only government-sanctioned execution, December 2, 1880, of John Callahan, for the knifing murder of John Tormie, at the Wayne County Fairgrounds.  In 1977, the third jail ceased it's service to Wayne County, with the opening of the new Justice Center, right across the street. In 1980 the building was registered as a historical landmark and in 1995 was purchased by a private business owner. Today, it is a popular restaurant and tavern.

This image of the third jail, is from Picturesque Wayne, published in the late 1890s

Over the years, Wayne County has had 42 Sheriffs. The first was Josiah Crawford, who served from 1812 to 1814, who, evidently, served without a jail. Maybe there weren't enough people in the county to justify it. The first sheriff to have a jail, the log one built by Benjamin Jones, was Robert Orr, who served from 1814 to 1818. Seven more sheriffs came and went, until the second “dungeon” jail was built, in 1839, when M.C. Shant was in office. Seven more sheriffs served the county, until the third jail was built in 1865, when John B. France was sheriff. Twenty two men served as sheriff, in that grand old building, ending with James Frost, who was the last sheriff to serve in the third jail, and the first to serve in the new Wayne County Justice Center. Since then, Wayne County has had three sheriffs, Loran Alexander, Thomas Maurer and Travis Hutchinson.

Wayne County Justice Center, opened in 1977. It is across the street from the third Wayne County Jail