The Ohio State Reformatory

Assalamu Alaykum world.  This blog entry is when my family went to The Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, OH. It is also known as the Mansfield Reformatory.   The prison was still in use during The Shawshank Redemption movie and was used as a training grounds during the Civil War.  Most of the grounds and buildings, including the outer wall, have been demolished since its closing in 1990 and over 200 people died within the halls.  Some of it is really spooky and the stairs...there are a lot of a stairs that creak and that I couldn't imagine sending prisoners or guards up and down.   One set of spiral stairs was so covered in rust and old, that it was held together with duct tape.  I even went into one of the solitary confinement rooms in the West Wing.   Let me tell you, that would probably be inhumane punishment today.   You wouldn't be able to lay down within the room and while the ceiling stretched above you, the most you could do would be to squat or sit down.  The passage inside was very narrow, I had to squeeze sideways in there and it would be very dark with the door closed.

Sorry the flash was on.

The bars on the window are fake and the gate outside is a prop in the Shawshank Redemption movie.

The next four pictures of the Chaplain Quarters and the Shawshank Parole Board.

Parole Board in Shawshank Redemption

The next four pictures are of the 2nd Floor Warden's Quarters.  

Where the Warden's wife died from a gunshot wound while getting jewelry.

A look into an area leading to the cells of the prison.

The next several pictures are of the east block cells of the prison.  Imagine descending down these rickety stairs in the dark.

The news article above says:

Squirrel's Den
www.squirrelsden.com
419-522-9070
Available Fridays & Saturdays in May:
Fresh Strawberries Dipped in Chocolate (milk, dark or white)
Fresh Strawberry Fudge

• Hand Dipped Chocolates

• Homemade Fudge

• Flavored Popcorn

• Nuts

• Candies

• Gifts

33 N. Main St
Mansfield, OH 44902
1-888-855-6887
We Ship and Deliver
Mon-Sat. 9:30-5:00
Friday 9:30-8:00

The website actually works and the store is in business.  Apparently, President Obama visited it during his stop in Mansfield in August 2012.

One of the rooms for solitary confinement.

I think these cages were once for solitary confinement of prisoners.

A Warden's family.

The electric chair was used for executions. 

Tennessee State Museum

Assalaamu Alaykum world.  My mother, my grandmother, my teenage sister and I went to Nashville July 18th to July 20th 2015.  We went to the Tennessee State Museum after attending the Tennessee State War Memorial on July 18, 2015.     This post is about the Tennessee State Museum which was nice.  It was divided into different time periods throughout USA history.

Producing for Every Home

Pottery Making in Tennessee

The Diversity of Urban Life

Anemities and Public Services

The below picture is an oil painting of General George H. Thomas and below that is the sign next to the painting talking briefly about him.

This has both a mummy and a mummified cat in it.
The mummy is 3,600 years old and brought to TN in 1860.

Bust of Jenny Lind 

Housing on the Frontier 

Mastadon tusk and jaw

American Mastodon

The above picture I had to darken to eliminate the glare from the sunlight but this is what the sign says.

AMERICAN MASTODON
(Mammut americanum)
The American Mastodon was commonly found in the forests of North America during the Middle to Late Ice Age and became extinct about 10,000 years ago.  Usually it attained a height of about ten feet at the shoulders, had a long massive body with short, stocky legs and fed on plant life.   The mastodon had a flatter head, heavier and larger tusks and longer hair than the modern elephant, which it resembles.

American Mastodon being hunted by early man