Sinking 1894 jail is rescued and restored in Ohio

SUGAR GROVE, Ohio (AP) — A historic Ohio jail that was sinking into the ground has been saved and restored for field trips and other uses.

The Lancaster Eagle-Gazette reports the jail that opened in 1894 in Sugar Grove is considered one of only two 19th century wooden jails still standing in the U.S. A ribbon-cutting was Thursday at the building after a $13,000 fix-up in the village about 35 miles southeast of Columbus.

Local development committee member Barbara Uhl says the project was launched after a colleague noticed the jail had begun to sink.

The contractor who did the work says he uncovered some of the jail’s secrets, including the scrawled names of boys held there in 1950 and the name “Shorty” thought to have been carved into the wood in 1896.