MANSFIELD — The Ohio State Reformatory is known as a historic prison, but it’s also home to some of the greatest movies ever made and, over the years, has become a popular haunted attraction.

The prison was opened in 1886 and is nearly 140 years old. The institution's goal was truly to “reform” and rehabilitate its inmates, who received three things during their time at OSR: religion, education and a trade. By the early 1960s, however, the state pulled its financial support from the Reform model and began converting OSR into a maximum-security facility. By the 1980s, the conditions had deteriorated to the point where the inmates sued the state of Ohio.

The lawsuit was successful, and construction began on a new modern facility nearby. The Reformatory was finally closed in 1990. It sat em

See Full Page