Montgomery County Jail
330 West Second Street, Dayton, OH 45422

History of the Montgomery County Jail
In 1803, an election was held and George Newcombe was elected the first Montgomery County Sheriff.  His office was in a tavern, so he met his need for a jail by lowering prisoners into a dry well with a rope and by chaining prisoners to a corncrib.

The first real jail was built in 1803 and was a log building.  In 1811, this jail was removed to make room for a new building, which was a combination jail and Sheriff's residence.

In 1834, a single-story building of heavy cut stone was erected in the yard at the rear of the jail.  It had four cells with stone floors and arched brick ceilings.  This served the county for ten years.

In 1844, a new county jail was built.  It was 60 feet wide by 100 feet long and had limestone walls two feet thick.  The new jail’s capacity was 60-70 prisoners.

In 1869, a new jail was built on Third Street behind the new courthouse. This building was equipped with a gallows and public hangings were carried out at the jail.  The last hanging in Montgomery County occurred in 1877.

Construction of the next county jail was completed in 1965, at 330 West Second Street.  That jail is now a portion of the current county jail complex, which was completed in 1993.  The most recent renovation was completed in December of 2004, bringing the current facility to its 900 prisoner-bed capacity.

Statutory Requirements for Jail Operations

The State of Ohio’s Bureau of Adult Detention regulates the construction, operation, programming, and the rights that are afforded prisoners.
The governing document mandating the operation of the Montgomery County Jail is the "Minimum Standards for Jails in Ohio-Full Service".  Additionally, the Ohio Revised Code requires the Sheriff to operate a jail. 

The Montgomery County Jail has attained the highest honor for observance of national correctional standards.  In 1999, the American Correctional Association awarded recognition to the Montgomery County Jail as an “Accredited Adult Local Detention Facility”.  That distinction gave the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office the honor of being a “triple crown” accreditation recipient (National Commission on Correctional Health Care, Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, and the American Correctional Association.)