Yep, someone got arrested for...

 Record of the Month!

For the month of June, we are featuring a variety of entries from the Historic Jail Registers.

Licking County’s Historic Jail is a well-known structure throughout the county, and is considered one of the county’s most architecturally significant buildings. Constructed in 1889, the historic jail was the fourth detention facility constructed in the county. Initially the jail could accommodate sixty-eight inmates across four cell blocks. Designed by Ohio architect Joseph Warren Yost in the Richardsonian Romanesque Revival style, the jail’s overall appearance is that of a castle fortress. Yost also included several intricate details, such as carvings of cat-like creatures into the windowsills and a frog water spout.  The iconic structure served as the county’s primary detention facility until 1987.

The jail registers track who was arrested and booked into jail, regardless of whether or not charges were formally filed through the court. The information includes the suspect’s name, where the suspect was from, alleged offense, the date of commitment and discharge, discharging authority, number of days in jail, suspect description, and any Sheriff’s fees.

The majority of the entries in the historic jail registers are for brutal criminal offenses, which we sadly still recognize today. Meanwhile other minor offenses recorded within the registers are strange, even humorous, due to the nature of the offense and the missing situational, historical, and legal contexts. Below are some examples of these unusual offenses:   


Although we can make educated guesses as to what actions precipitated the above charges, such as stoning car likely means someone was arrested for throwing rocks at a train car or other vehicle, other charges such as mayhem and living vicious life are more difficult to pin down, especially if the charges did not result in a trial. Further clouding the issue is that other charges we would reasonably expect to be synonymous with the less familiar charges, such as disorderly conduct for mayhem, were used during the same time period. Meanwhile, other offenses such as stealing sheep and chicken stealing clearly state the actions involved and generally lead to sheepish puns about fowl crimes. 

If this information interests you, please feel free to contact us by phone at 740-670-5121 or email archives@lcounty.com. Also for more information about Licking County's Historic Jail or the other information used in this article please check out the Bibliography Page.

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