The Mansfield Reformatory, also known as the Ohio State Reformatory, is an exciting and intriguing piece of Ohio's history.
I had the opportunity to visit for the first time last weekend, and I was in awe!
Me and my wonderful family went on a little family vacation to Mohican, where we got to canoe, visit an 1800's trade fair, and visit a castle! I'll be writing about that later, but today I wanted to share with you the last part of our trip, our trip to The Mansfield Reformatory!
I had the opportunity to visit for the first time last weekend, and I was in awe!
Me and my wonderful family went on a little family vacation to Mohican, where we got to canoe, visit an 1800's trade fair, and visit a castle! I'll be writing about that later, but today I wanted to share with you the last part of our trip, our trip to The Mansfield Reformatory!
With the discovery that The Reformatory was built with three architectural styles in mind; Victorian Gothic, Richardsonian Romanesque, and Queen Anne, I knew why I was so enamored with it! I absolutely love all three of those styles, but with them all combined! Well! It was nothing short of grand!
I was smitten!
I was smitten!
The Reformatory opened its doors to its first prisoners in 1896. I absolutely love anything having to do with history, so I was super excited to see life through late 1800's inmates eyes! And that's exactly what I got to do! We walked the cell blocks (including the East Cell Block, which remains the largest free standing steel cell block in the world! It's six tiers high!), sat inside cells, explored the shower room, chapel, library, and imagined what these inmate's lives were like.
I learned that the Mansfield Reformatory has been used in movies, tv shows, music videos, and documentaries. Most famously, it was used in the production of the 1994 movie, The Shawshank Redemption!
The Shawshank Redemption is an excellent film, and it was so cool knowing that I was walking around where it had been filmed!
The Shawshank Redemption is an excellent film, and it was so cool knowing that I was walking around where it had been filmed!
And I guess Lil' Wayne made a music video here also, and this is the gold cell you see in the video.
At the end they had a really cool little museum! It included different weapons that were made by the prisoners, crafts they made, and pictures and stories about the people imprisoned there!
It was a blast, and now I want to watch Shawshank Redemption again!
Next time you're in Ohio, I would definitely recommend visiting this historic site!
Next time you're in Ohio, I would definitely recommend visiting this historic site!
Peace Love and History
Jess <3
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