Ohio Penitentiary

Ohio Penitentiary
The prison c. 1897
Map
Present-day site of the prison
LocationBounded by Spring St. (to the south), Neil Ave. (west), West St. (east), Maple St. (north)
Coordinates39°58′3.25″N 83°0′29.92″W / 39.9675694°N 83.0083111°W / 39.9675694; -83.0083111
StatusDemolished
Population5,235 (as of 1955)
Opened1834
Closed1984
CityColumbus
CountyFranklin
State/provinceOhio
CountryUnited States
Notable prisoners
John Hunt Morgan, Bugs Moran, O. Henry, Chester Himes, Sam Sheppard

The Ohio Penitentiary, also known as the Ohio State Penitentiary, was a prison operated from 1834 to 1984 in downtown Columbus, Ohio, in what is now known as the Arena District. The state had built a small prison in Columbus in 1813, but as the state's population grew the earlier facility was not able to handle the number of prisoners sent to it by the courts. When the penitentiary first opened in 1834, not all of the buildings were completed. The prison housed 5,235 prisoners at its peak in 1955. Prison conditions were described as "primitive" and the facility was eventually replaced by the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, a maximum security facility in Lucasville. During its operation, it housed several well-known inmates, including General John H. Morgan, George "Bugs" Moran, O. Henry, Chester Himes, and Sam Sheppard. A separate women's prison was built within its walls in 1837. The buildings were demolished in 1997.[1]

  1. ^ "LibGuides: Prison Records at the Archives & Library of the Ohio History Connection: Ohio State Penitentiary".