The Ohio Penitentiary: Stories from a Forgotten Landmark
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- Take a journey through the fascinating history of the Ohio Penitentiary, a once-massive prison that stood in downtown Columbus. Today, the site is part of the bustling Arena District, but its past is filled with incredible stories, tragic events, and a surprising list of famous inmates. Discover how this landmark shaped Columbus’s history, hear about its most notable prisoners, and see the relics that remain today.
Notable Inmates of the Ohio Penitentiary:
John Hunt Morgan: Confederate General known for leading the "Morgan's Raid" through Indiana and Ohio during the Civil War.
William Sydney Porter (O. Henry): Celebrated short story writer, imprisoned for embezzlement. His pen name may have been inspired by his time here.
Chester Himes: African-American novelist who wrote about his prison experiences, including the Ohio Penitentiary fire, before gaining fame for his Harlem detective series.
Sam Sheppard: Doctor accused of murdering his wife in a sensational trial later overturned due to lack of a fair trial.
James Brown: A sailor and alleged "vampire," infamous for bizarre behavior and accusations of drinking blood.
From fascinating characters to dark events, the Ohio Penitentiary remains an important piece of Columbus’s hidden history. Don’t miss this deep dive into a bygone era!
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I remember as a kid back in the 1960’s my folks who lived in Dayton took my brother and I on a short vacation to Columbus. Back then he and I didn’t know our folks didn’t have much money. I’ll never forget one evening Dad took us all on a drive around the Penitentiary. Couldn’t see a whole lot at night but I do remember going under a bridge that was lighted. I couldn’t have been more than ten years old but made an impression on me!
Thanks for your presentation!
I have one of the old keys. My late husband was a CPD officer that actually worked at the prison before it closed. I wish I'd seen the inside. Thank you for this.
I really appreciate this channel, Columbus has so much history and beautiful architecture. It's a real shame so much of it has been destroyed.
I was a corner worker during Columbus 500 IMSA race many years back. After qualifying they had a party in the courtyard of the old penitentiary. We got a tour, I am glad I got to see it before it was torn down.
I was at that race. Didn't Al Holbert win, and then die when his plane crashed leaving Columbus?
A wonderful video with captivating photos and so much history in Ohio, I didn't know about.
A nice presentation about a piece of Ohio history ! I worked at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield from April 1984 until it closed in Dec. of 1990 and then retired from the Mansfield Correctional institution after 30 years . I have a very interesting collection of .O.S.R memorabilia from there and also have my very first employee I.D. badge . Thank You for this video !
Hi, I’m from Toronto and I really enjoy your channel. History is so amazing and you cover it really well
Columbus has become such a beautiful city. I left the city in 2000 and many of the big projects had started. I look forward to my next visit and really miss it.👍👍😉💕
I live in a suburb of Columbus and I disagree the city is a cesspool of crime due to years of Democratic control the city is lawless.
@ yes I’ve heard that too. I was commenting on the program and the places they were highlighting. Hopefully change will come very soon and the crime will be eliminated 🤞🏼🤞🏼🙏🏼
They forgot to mention Don King was held there too. I'm old enough to have driven past it but it was closed at that point.
Very interesting!!
You may be misinformed on piece of the O. Henry story:
According to the account I read, William Sydney Porter did indeed begin his writing career while in the Ohio Penn, but his nom de plume was obtianed by trunctating the name of his favorite prison guard, a man named "Orrin Henry".
While doing some research at an abandoned cemetery I found the grave of one the 4 inmates convicted of starting the fire in the 1930s. He had eventually hung himself and was buried in a small family plot along with his brother and mother. I'd post the newspaper article, but can't post photos here.
In college in the late 80's we went in there. We saw a cop walk by the hallways we were in and we all freaked out. When we got a closer look where he walked was an elevator shaft (?) anyway it was just a BIG HOLE. There was no cop. OOoooooooOOOOOoooo
The northern wall of the Penn was way past where the Union Station Arch is now. The northern wall was almost all the way to the railroad tracks.
When I was a kid my dad would say "you better straighten up or you'll end up on Spring Street"
the decorative stone work is not carved stone but rather concrete rubble cast in forms. I used the date stone from above the front door for the barback in a bar I built in German village. I also used the kingpin centers from the tops of the door arches. they were also cast rubble, not carved stone.
Years ago I did time there not a nice place but I also did time in Mansfield reformatory and it was way worse then the Ohio penitentiary
I did time there years ago but I also did time at Mansfield better known as the shawshank movie prison when I was there the way they ran that prison is not far from the things they showed in the movie like inmate beatings I saw personally I was there in 1981 and it was an awful place to be I also did time at the Ohio penitentiary and it was bad to but Mansfield to me was considerably worse
Wished he would have stood where death row and the death house was located.
My dad was a state police man he went there when a riot and fite there i was 4 or younger early 50 dsys
Some famous ganster was there and escaped.
We need more prisons.
Not built in 1850 with horse and buggy / donkey contruction co. 😂
Bunch of " history" bullshit