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History: More than 4,000 Soldiers were trained for action in the Civil War at a camp which stood on the present site of the Mansfield Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio. Opened in August 1861, the training center was known as Camp Mordecai Bartley. It was named in honor of the Mansfield man who served as governor of Ohio in the 1840's.
There was no mistaking Mansfield's excitement on November 4, 1886, when ceremonies marked the laying of the cornerstone for an intermediate state prison that would become know as the Ohio State Reformatory. The first prisoners arrived on September 17, 1896 when 150 inmates were transferred from the Ohio Penitentiary. It remained a working prison until 1990. While the facility was used in a number of films (including several while the facility was still in operation) and TV shows, it was made famous by the film The Shawshank Redemption (1994). Most of the grounds and support buildings, including the outer wall, have been demolished since the closing. In 1995, the Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society was formed. They have turned the prison into a museum and conduct tours to help fund grounds rehabilitation projects and currently work to stabilize the buildings against further deterioration The East Cell Block remains the largest free standing steel cell block in the world at six tiers high. Over 200 people died at the OSR, including a few guards who were killed during escape attempts. The Claims: During the initial tour we found out that while most folks concentrate on the activity in the East Cell Block there is activity all through the compound. In the Assistant Warden’s quarters there are claims of smelling rosewater perfume and cherry pipe tobacco from former warden Arthur Glattke and his wife Helen both of whom died at the prison. Helen Bauer Glattke, died following an accident in November 1950 where a handgun discharged when she was reaching into a jewelry box in the family's quarters. Arthur Glattke died following a heart attack suffered in his office on February 10, 1959. In the main entrance there are claims of smelling smoke. Legend has it that there was a mattress fire and an inmate died there. There are claims of seeing apparitions of Civil War Soldiers, American Indians and prisoners on the grounds. Our Findings: The Ohio State Reformatory is creepy. It has a very negative feel – unlike any other place. It is massive, dark and eerily quiet and it doesn’t take long for your imagination to run wild. You get the sense of eyes watching you from everywhere. We investigated in March 2011 and it was very cold. Snow fell while we were inside. Obviously there is no heat in the majority of the building but the stone construction kept us insulated from the outside cold so we weren’t seeing our breath like we have on some other hunts. We weren’t cozy by any means but did manage to survive the night without frostbite. As for photographic evidence – we captured orbs in one photo in the East Cell Block. However we did capture several EVPs that we are sharing. The size of this facility cannot be overstated. It is massive. We found it very easy to get lost and have no idea where we were. The OSR is not for the faint of heart or first-time ghost hunters. Something evil lurks behind those walls……… |