Hocking Correctional Facility was an

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

state

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

located in Ward Township, Hocking County, just north of

Nelsonville, Ohio Nelsonville is a city in northwestern Athens County, Ohio, United States, located about southeast of Columbus. The population was 5,373 at the 2020 census. It is home to Hocking College as well as Rocky Brands. Nelsonville is surrounded by ...

. The facility was originally built in 1952 as a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

and later a children's center. It was converted into prison in 1982. The prison employed a staff of 110. This prison was used primarily to incarcerate the state's aging prison population. The prison's operating budget for 2007 was $13,867,468; and the daily cost per inmate was $80.94. The prison, as of April 2007, housed 481 inmates. Of those: 111 were

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 363 were

Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Common meanings *Anything from the Caucasus region or related to it ** Ethnic groups in the Caucasus ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus re ...

, and 7 were Latino. In 2018, the prison housed 430 inmates. The

Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC or ODRC) is the administrative department of the Ohio state government responsible for oversight of Ohio State Correctional Facilities, along with its Incarcerated Individuals. Ohio's pri ...

announced in January 2018 that the correctional facility would close in March to trim operating costs. The facility is to reopen in 2019 as a women's rehabilitation center.

Notable Inmates

Salt Walther David "Salt" Walther (November 22, 1947 – December 27, 2012) was a driver in the USAC and CART Championship Car series. He also drove NASCAR stock cars and unlimited hydroplane boats, and was a car owner in USAC. Walther is best remembere ...

, Former USAC and

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

Series Driver. Best remembered for an accident at the start of the

1973 Indianapolis 500 The 57th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Wednesday, May 30, 1973. The race was held over three days because of rain and two major accidents. Three competitors—two drivers ...

that left him critically injured.

References

External links

Image of Hocking Correctional Facility
Prisons in Ohio Buildings and structures in Hocking County, Ohio 1982 establishments in Ohio 2018 disestablishments in Ohio {{Ohio-struct-stub