Mansfield, Ohio: Mansfield Reformatory: Shawshank Redemption Prison
RoadsideAmerica.com Team Field Report
Historic Ohio State Reformatory
- Address:
- 100 Reformatory Rd, Mansfield, OH
- Directions:
- Historic Ohio State Reformatory. North of town. I-71 exit 176 onto US 30 west. After about three miles, exit north onto Hwy 545/Olivesburg Rd. The Reformatory is just over the hill on the left hand side, on a side street named Reformatory Rd.
- Hours:
- Gates open April-Sep. Th-Su 11-4 (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 419-522-2644
- Admission:
- Adults $15.
- RA Rates:
- Major Fun
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Opened in 1896, closed as a prison in 1990. Mansfield Reformatory was the filming location for the 1994 movie "The Shawshank Redemption." Definitely looks like a movie prison from the outside.
Roadsideamerica.com Report... [11/06/2011]Visitor Tips and News About Mansfield Reformatory: Shawshank Redemption Prison
Reports and tips from RoadsideAmerica.com visitors and Roadside America mobile tipsters. Some tips may not be verified. Submit your own tip.
Being a huge Shawshank Redemption movie fan, this was a must stop. Expect to spend at least two hours. And the driving tour to see some areas where scenes were filmed adds another hour. We did the self-guided tour with the audio and didn't feel we missed anything. However, if you take a guided tour, you'll see some places off-limits. Hours are 11am-4pm and we arrived at 11 and finished everything around 2:30.
[Rose Howe, 08/26/2023]
Touring the Mansfield Reformatory (Absolutely love this App. Have been using it like crazy lately).
[Brooke Chesson-Riedel, 05/27/2020]
Just left after a self-guided tour of the prison with my daughters and granddaughters. We all agree it was fantastic. We spent two hours exploring the old prison and could have stayed longer. The place is falling apart, but is safe. I recommend taking a tour.
[Barbara, 11/05/2018]
Back in 2011 the Historical Center in Columbus held a special exhibition of Ohio artifacts it considered so traumatizing that no one under 18 was allowed to see them without an adult. One of the artifacts was "Old Sparky," Ohio's official electric chair (It had electrocuted 315 prisoners). After the exhibition was over, Old Sparky went into storage for years -- but now it's back in a new location: the Ohio State "Shawshank Redemption" Reformatory in Mansfield, where it will be on permanent display with no visitor restrictions.
Oddly, despite the Reformatory's fearsome appearance and infamous reputation, no prisoners were ever electrocuted there. The Reformatory had a replica electric chair on display, but it will be moved to the Toledo Police Museum.
[RoadsideAmerica.com Team, 06/16/2015]Page of 3 [Next 5 items]
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Ohio's electric chair, nicknamed "Old Sparky" moved from the Columbus Penitentiary to the Mansfield Reformatory in 2015, replacing a replica chair on display. The furniture's frying days ended in 1963.