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Marshal gives fairgoers look at inside of 1840s Trumbull County jail
By Ed Runyan
BAZETTA
In 1845, Orangeville got a jail. A marshal, who enforced the laws of the village in northeast Trumbull County, ran the jail and earned $25 per year.
The main purpose for the jail was to lock up vagrants and drunks, primarily the result of people coming into the town on the railroad, said Jeff Ford, who took over management of the jail during this year’s fair.
The jail, which last served Orangeville in 1968, has been at the fairgrounds since 1971.
But visitors were limited in what they could see of the inside of the small, wooden building, having to peer through chicken wire to see the two cells, the marshal’s desk and a few other items inside.
Ford, a member of the Vienna Historical Society, did some research this year to better explain to visitors the history of the building.
He also hurried over to the fairgrounds Tuesday after finishing his shift as a dispatcher and supervisor at the county 911 center so he could dress like an 1800s lawman and open the building for tours.
It’s the first time in a while that visitors have been able to “experience what they did in the day,” Ford said of walking inside and seeing the rough-hewn wood and see the conditions firsthand.
Children especially took the opportunity to step inside the marshal’s office and then into one of the cells, which are about 6 feet long by about 41/2 feet wide.
Inside on the walls is a 1910 photo of one of the marshals who worked out of the building. Another frame has documents showing how much was paid for various items that were used to construct the building. A document from 1896 shows the name of someone who spent some time locked up there.
The marshal’s desk was actually used by one of the marshals.
Ford won’t be able to man the jail all of the days of the fair, but he plans to be back on Friday to open it again, he said.
The Orangeville jail is one of several historical buildings at the fairgrounds that have gotten new life this year as 14 Trumbull County historical societies took over their operation.
The former Bazetta Christian Church, which has been at the fairgrounds since 1973, houses displays, photos and news articles about various communities, all provided by the historical groups.