The Franklin County Jail was a county jail building in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, administered by the Franklin County government. The building opened in 1889 and was in use until August 1971. At that time, the jail was moved to a new facility, part of the

Franklin County Government Center The Franklin County Government Center is a government complex of Franklin County, Ohio in the city of Columbus. The government center has included several iterations of the Franklin County Courthouse, including a building completed in 1840 and ...

. The 1889 structure was demolished two months later.

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The building was located on Fulton Street behind the Franklin County Courthouse. A bridge linked the jail to the courthouse, allowing for secure prisoner transport between the facilities. The jail was built to house 135 prisoners. The building was designed by Joseph Dauben or

George H. Maetzel George H. Maetzel (July 31, 1837 May 25, 1891) was a German-American architect. He primarily designed buildings in Columbus, Ohio, including the 1887 Franklin County Courthouse. Maetzel also was the architect of Ohio's Allen, Madison, and Sh ...

;

George Bellows Sr. George Bellows (January 2, 1829March 23, 1913) was an American architect and builder, and a Franklin County Commissioner. A resident of Columbus, Ohio, he was the father of prolific painter George Bellows. He is buried in Green Lawn Cemetery (Col ...

(father of painter

George Bellows George Wesley Bellows (August 12 or August 19, 1882 – January 8, 1925) was an American realism, American realist painting, painter, known for his bold depictions of urban life in New York City. He became, according to the Columbus Museum of Art ...

) was in charge of its construction.

History

There were numerous jails built for the county over its history. The first was in 1804 in Franklinton; the first building operated by the Franklin County government. The log-built jail had two windows, a solid door, stocks, and a whipping post outside the structure. It cost the county $80 to construct. In 1808, the first county courthouse was built in Franklinton, along with a new brick jail. When Columbus became the county seat in 1824, the courthouse moved to Capitol Square and the jail to the south side of Gay Street between

High High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift ...

and Third streets. In 1840, a

new courthouse New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

was built in Columbus, and part of its basement was used as a jail. A new jail building was constructed near this courthouse in 1865. The building opened on November 21, 1889, two years after the opening of the 1887 Franklin County Courthouse. On the opening day, the county held an open house, allowing the public to see the building and its jail cells. The building cost $165,000. The 1889 structure closed on August 1, 1971, and was demolished in October 1971. The structure's functions were taken over by a new Franklin County Jail, today known as the Franklin County Correctional Center I, part of the

. The building cost approximately $6.5 million.

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{{ccat
Photographs taken during demolition
via Columbus Metropolitan Library 1889 establishments in Ohio 1971 disestablishments in Ohio County government buildings in Ohio Demolished buildings and structures in Columbus, Ohio Government buildings completed in 1889 Government buildings in Columbus, Ohio Buildings and structures demolished in 1971

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History

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