Mansfield in Richland County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

The Ohio State Reformatory

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., June 6, 2009

1. The Ohio State Reformatory Marker

Inscription. Designed by architect Levi T. Scofield, the Ohio State Reformatory opened its doors in 1896 as a facility to rehabilitate young male offenders through hard work and education. A self-sufficient institution with its own power plant and working farm, the reformatory produced goods in its workshops for other state institutions and provided opportunities for inmates to learn trades. As social attitudes towards crime hardened in the mid-twentieth century, it became a maximum-security facility. The six-tier East Cell Block is the largest known structure of its kind. Considered substandard by the 1970s, The Ohio State Reformatory closed in 1990. It has served since as a setting for several major motion pictures. This Mansfield landmark was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Erected 2001 by The Ohio Bicentennial Commission, The Longaberger Company, The Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society, and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 4-70.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Education • Landmarks • Notable Buildings. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), and the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1896.

Location.

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40° 46.996′ N, 82° 30.176′ W. Marker is in Mansfield, Ohio, in Richland County. It is on Reformatory Road, in the median. Entrance to the old reformatory is actually off Crawford Avenue North. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 100 Reformatory Road, Mansfield OH 44905, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Brooks' Room (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); East Cell Block (about 400 feet away); The Chapel (about 400 feet away); Lt. Col. Jared Mansfield (approx. 1.8 miles away); First Religious Service (approx. 1.8 miles away); Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial (approx. 1.8 miles away); Mansfield Blue Star Mothers War Memorial (approx. 1.8 miles away); Richland County Korean War Memorial (approx. 1.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mansfield.

Also see . . . Ohio State Reformatory. The Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society website. (Submitted on July 19, 2009, by Syd Whittle of Mesa, Arizona.)

The Ohio State Reformatory and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., June 6, 2009

2. The Ohio State Reformatory and Marker

Ohio State Reformatory Six-tiers image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Denise Boose, July 25, 2021

3. Ohio State Reformatory Six-tiers

Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, June 2, 2025

4. The Ohio State Reformatory Marker

The marker is located in the parking lot of the Reformatory, now open for tours.

The Ohio State Reformatory image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, June 2, 2025

5. The Ohio State Reformatory

The entrance to the Ohio State Reformatory.

Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, June 2, 2025

6. The Chapel

Inside the historic Ohio State Reformatory, there are rooms dedicated to the site's history, as well as rooms related to its history as a movie set, most notably for "The Shawshank Redemption."

Credits. This page was last revised on August 12, 2025. It was originally submitted on July 10, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 2,241 times since then and 73 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 10, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. 3. submitted on September 17, 2023, by Denise Boose of Tehachapi, California. 4, 5, 6. submitted on August 10, 2025, by Ian Lefkowitz of New York, New York. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.