Licking County Jail

46 S 3rd St.
Newark, OH 43055

740-345-5245   |  https://lcjail.org/
Varies, please check website.
Varies, please check website.

Licking County Jail

Located in Newark, the Licking County Jail first opened in November 1889. The building was designed by famous Ohio architect J.W. Yost and built out of Millersburg brownstone in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. Altogether, the structure cost approximately $120,000 dollars to build and was immediately renowned for its architectural beauty and sturdy construction. Along with inmates, the building initially housed the Sheriff, his family, and a matron. The jail was originally designed to hold 68 prisoners, with both men and women inmates occupying the building until women were moved to a different facility in the 1970’s to accommodate the growing male population. Even with this increased capacity, overcrowding and increasingly modern jailing standards caused the jail to close by 1987. Despite being empty, the jail remained one of the most significant architectural landmarks in Licking County and was eventually taken over by the Licking County Governmental Preservation Society who turned the building into a historic tourism destination.

Located in Newark, the Licking County Jail first opened in November 1889. The building was designed by famous Ohio architect J.W. Yost and built out of Millersburg brownstone in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. Altogether, the structure cost approximately $120,000 dollars to build and was immediately renowned for its architectural beauty and sturdy construction. Along with inmates, the building initially housed the Sheriff, his family, and a matron. The jail was originally designed to hold 68 prisoners, with both men and women inmates occupying the building until women were moved to a different facility in the 1970’s to accommodate the growing male population. Even with this increased capacity, overcrowding and increasingly modern jailing standards caused the jail to close by 1987. Despite being empty, the jail remained one of the most significant architectural landmarks in Licking County and was eventually taken over by the Licking County Governmental Preservation Society who turned the building into a historic tourism destination.

Along with its impressive architecture, the Licking County Jail has been the site of several troubling incidents throughout its history. Four sheriffs suffered heart attacks while living at the site, and there were numerous cases of inmate deaths and suicides. Most notoriously, was the lynching of Carl Etherington, a detective with the Anti-Saloon League of Ohio, who had shot a local saloon owner in self defense and been taken to jail. Angered by the shooting, and perhaps the temperance movement itself, a mob forcibly removed Etherington from his cell and hanged him from a telephone poll on the courthouse square. Given such tragic events, the Licking County Jail is a popular site for ghost hunters, with many reporting strange and eerie phenomena within the jail’s walls. For more information on ghost tours, visit https://lcjail.org/.

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