Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-09-19
THE OLD JAIL.
"reminiscences Of an Historic Structure
Which Stood Where the Majestic Gov
ernment Building Will Soon Rise.
Notable Criminals Which 1t Contained
Ingenuity of Prisoners Toward Effect
ing an EseaPe-How Newcomers
Were Treated-CIark County's
First Jail and the Present One.

| Were Treated-CIark County's
First Jail and the Present One.
In year from the present, the gilde'
turrets of Springdeld's noble government
building will be flashing on Jail hill, -
monument of architectural beauty-On
spot that is historic. For years it was ten
anted by the old Clark county jail-now ;
thing of memory only, but a structure witt
an absorbing interest.
When Springfield contained $500 inhabi
tants, the Clark county jail, like the grea
number of prisons in Ohio, was simply
log house enclosed within red brick walls
1t stood where Monumental square is now
and near it was long, one-stOry fram'
building, in which were located the county
offices. But in 1851. under the superinten
dence of WIN. Whiteley, the Commissioners
who had charge-a gentleman who is better
known 10 the rising generation as Squire
| Whiteley-the lately demolished Jail was
erected at cost of $685. The original
intention was to build a court house al
once, adjoining the jail on the south side,
but before this plan could be carried cut the
proposition was submitted to vote of the
people and lost; hence the unsightly ap-
pearance-that side of the building always
had-an eyesore to all property owners in
that neighborhood. Still, its unfinished
condition was Offset by its strength and
size, and the almost square two-story stone
structure, for il was principally of stone,
was considered quite an addition to the
public improvements of which Springfield
justly felt proud.
THE INTERIOR.
The second floor rooms were designed for
county offices. They were large and com
posed the sherifrs residence. The jail
proper consists of the entire first floor. 1t
was 60x75 feet, and walls % inches thick
divided into four large cells, two dungeons
and a west and east corridor. Each of the
large cells contained four sleeping cells.
which reSembled holes in the wall. They
had no windows, no doors, and were
barely 9x5 feet in extent The
crooked arch and ventilation wss supposed
to be obtained by an aperture, 5x61f inches,
which curved out Of sight, or rather seems
to merge into its own growing blackness.
In reality these yentilators followed the
arch, met, and If they had not been choked
up long ago might possibly have answered
their purpose. Each corridor was dimly
lighted by two closely barred windows and
a door made of iron bars which admitted
a portion of the light transmitted to it by a
cells already spoken Of open upon these
corridors and the low ceilings, uneven floors
and solid walls were constructed of stone so
poorly dressed as to have seemed rough
hewn, it was evident that the prisoners
quarters were very dark and uncomfortable.
The dungeons, therefore, as their name
implies, were miserable in the superlatiye
degree. They were dirtier and gloonier
than the sleeping cells themselves The
furniture in the large cells consisted of
dirty benches and tables. In each sleeping
cell there was a box foot high made of
rongh boards upon which was mattress
and as many blankets as the men needed.
By putting two in bed, thirty-two
prisoners could be accommodated, although
sixteen actually crowded the jail. Report
ers frequently referred to the dampness and
odor of the place, and indeed
when one considers the lack of ventilation
and light, that the wind continually blows
a filthy stencil from the sewer into the cells,
and that there were more prisoners often
lhan could be properly cared for, it appears
strange that new Jail was not built many
years before and it was finally done.
HOW 1T WAS PEoPLED.
As general rule, the prisoners were an
ignorant and unprincipled set, three-fourths
Of them white, very few women amongst
them, and mostly young men between the
ages of fifteen and twenty-five. The latter
whether startling or not, is war
ranted by the statistics, and ought to at
tract attention. The proportion of young
men and boys was 50 great that all who are
/ terested in the education and training of
youth should notice it and act accordingly.
The youngest, according to an old Jail regis
ter, was seven years and the oldest sixty
two years of age. The majority were guilty
of petit larceny, though criminals of all
grades have reposed in the moldy walls.
critical class of forgers and confidence men
has been fully represented there, as else
where. Several men, among them Michael
Ryan, who killed his own father, have been
sent to the penitentiary for term of years,
of manslaughter or murder. Conn
Heatherty was ''sent up for life. 1t is
true, as has often been said, that no one
ever witnessed a hanging in Clark county,
still it should be remembered that three
have escaped who would, in all probability,
have been hanged, namely, the H-rtzler
murderers and McNeely.
ANECDOTES OF PRISONERS.
Those who have charge OF prisoners be-
come very cynical, and are always on the
alert The treacherous characters with
whom they constantly come in contact arc
so untruthful and vicious that these officials
quickly learn to pay little attention to the
and protestatiOns of innocence
of the accused, the weeping and pleading
of their families or themselves, and of the
sham piety and pretensions to reform that
are so frequent. They are equally quick to
observe the necessity of appearing 10 be
without fear and at the same time to give
not the slightest opportunity for an escape.