148-year-old Ohio jail may become offices or a speakeasy

A former Ohio jail that spent more than a century behind bars is getting a very different future. The historic Jail and Sheriff’s Residence in Delaware, Ohio, has been sold by the Delaware County Historical Society to Westwood principal Andy Warnock, a Delaware native, states the Columbus Business First report. The 8,500-square-foot property, which once housed prisoners and the county sheriff’s family, is now being repositioned as a mixed-use property that could include private offices, creative space and an unusual nod to its Prohibition-era past. The sale follows more than five years of stewardship by the Historical Society, which purchased the building in 2021 and worked to make it accessible through tours, exhibitions and community events, adds the report.A jail with more than 100 years of historyBuilt in 1878 by Toledo architect David Gibbs, the building operated as a working jail until 1988.