|
MADISON
COUNTY JAIL – THE END OF AN ERA
1890-2000
The
opening of the Tri-County Regional Jail on December 08, 2000 marked the end of
an era in Madison County. Since the
county was organized in the early 1800’s, the county jail was always located
adjacent to the county courthouse. Two
previous courthouses had come and gone by 1890, both lost by fire.
In 1890 a new fireproof courthouse and Sheriff’s Office was opened at
the corner of Main St. and High St. in London.
The
Sheriff’s Office building was built on the South-East corner of the courthouse
square. The two-story building was
separated into two  sections.
One section comprised the county jail.
This wing held both male and female prisoners, as well as juvenile
offenders. The other wing consisted of the Sheriff’s residence.
It was a common practice in Ohio for the Sheriff to live at the jail.
This was so the prisoners would not be left unattended in the days when a
county might only have one or two deputies.
The Sheriff’s wife usually acted as the jail cook and
matron for women prisoners. This
practice continued in the smaller
counties as late as the late 1980’s, early 1990’s, but is for the most part
now a historical side note in the Ohio Sheriffs’ history.
The Madison County Sheriff moved out of the residence in the early
1980’s and the residence became offices for the county prosecutor and
Sheriff’s Investigators.
Once
two-way radio came to Madison County, a small base station was placed in an
office between the two
sections of the Sheriff’s Office. By
now a Deputy Sheriff was generally assigned to “sit desk”.
When deputies sat the desk they ran the jail, monitored the radio and
answered the telephones. When a
call for service came in, the deputy would tell the Sheriff he was leaving and
take the call. Incoming calls would
be transferred to the residence side and the Sheriff or his wife would answer
the phone and watch the jail.
In
1976, a new wing was added to the Sheriff’s Office.
A new  administrative
office and hallway cellblock was added. The
administrative office moved out of the Courthouse and the entire Sheriff’s
Office was now comprised in one building. A
new jail office and communications center were placed in the new section, but
the jail deputy was generally still responsible for jail and radio.
Full-time
dispatcher’s were soon hired and the communications center moved out of the
jail office. The jail deputy was
relieved of dispatching duties, except to serve as a back-up when the dispatcher
needed a break or assistance.
The
hallway cellblock increased the jail capacity to 26 adults. The two 1890 era cellblocks, however, were growing too small
by 1990. New jail
 standards
required much more space, corrections staff and programs that the old jail was
not able to provide. By the mid
1990’s, the average daily population was 31.
The cell blocks were cramped, offered little room for expansion and were
poorly ventilated. In response to
this need, Madison County officials began searching for an answer.
That answer came when Madison, Union, and Champaign County pooled
their funds and built a regional three-county jail in Mechanicsburg in Champaign
County. This new jail is larger,
offers room for expansion, and is capable of delivering more court-ordered
services to inmates. The end came
on December 08, 2000 when Madison County jail deputies transported two convoys
of inmates to the new facility. (Juvenile
offenders had been moved out in the 1980’s when state law required juveniles
to be held separate from adult offenders.)
Although
the jail ended on December 08, 2000, the Sheriff’s Office
 remained.
Renovation is nearing completion on a three-month project
to expand the Sheriff’s Office. The 1890 cellblocks were partially torn
out for file and storage
space. The communications center,
which was moved out of the jail office in 1992 was moved back as the jail
office location was larger
and provided a more secure location. The
hallway cellblock was refurbished and is used for day holding of
inmates who
are making court appearances in the Courthouse.
A Court Services Office was opened in an old supply room. Projects
currently underway include a new Sheriff’s personal office and the patrol
deputy’s office.
|
