in and out of jail

the Delaware, Ohio county courthouse, built in 1858

So I spot a blurb in the paper: "tours of the old jail during this weekend's arts festival. 2:00- 4:00 p.m."

I know few share my enthusiasm for a jail tour. No matter. Bill and I got in line. The jail, which sits behind the Delaware County courthouse in the heart of Delaware and houses some court offices, has caught my eye for the past 20 years. Every time I drive by I say, "oooooh, I'd love to see inside that jail." And today I did.

Built in 1878, the building not only housed up to 16 prisoners, it also was home to the sheriff and his family. Yes! His wife and children. And I met one of them: more on that in a sec.

Incredibly, the massive limestone structure served to hold local law-breakers until 1988 when a new county jail was built as a lawsuit from the state was threatened on our county. Originally, males, females and even juveniles were all locked up here together. Until the early 20th century, laws protecting juveniles didn't exist.

The cells are horrifically 19th-century. Little more than a dank hole with a fold-down metal 'cot,' cold limestone walls and an iron-bar door. A stainless steel commode sat at the end of each row of cells: no privacy whatsoever.

White-haired Marjorie Rutherford sat in a folding chair in the shade outside the jail. She regaled visitors with her memories of her 87 years in Delaware, including her childhood spent in the living quarters of the jailhouse. Opening a little box on her lap, she held out beaded necklaces made by inmates for her and her mother. She remembers her father, the sheriff, giving money to a prisoner to walk young Marjorie into town for ice cream!

I imagine everyone's town has jewels of its history waiting for the telling. And what a treasure I discovered today.

Marjorie Rutherford