History of the Miami County Jail
The first jail was a large double-hewed log building. One end of the jail was for the jailer and the other end was for the jail. The courtroom for the county was located upstairs. Pictured at left is the Staunton Township Jail which was the county seat prior to Troy earning that designation.
In 1841 the building that once housed Bob’s Shop and the Flash Restaurant in the city of Troy was built as a court house and jail. The cost for construction of the court house and jail was $13,500.00.
In 1854 a new jail was built on the northeast corner of West Main Street and Plum Street in the city of Troy. The sheriff’s residence was located in the front of the building. The jail and the offices for the probate judge were located in the rear of the building.
This new jail was considered one of the most secure jails in the state of Ohio and was used for federal prisoners until the new jail in Montgomery County was built.
In 1972 the jail and sheriff’s office was demolished to make way for the construction of a three story jail and sheriff’s office at the corner of Plum and Water Streets.
During construction prisoners were housed at the old City of Piqua jail. The blocks in the two fountains in the plaza between the courthouse and safety building are from the 1854 jail.
After a federal consent decree was placed on Miami County due to overpopulation of the downtown jail, the Miami County Incarceration Facility was built in 1999. While this project cost was $4,602,000, it was constructed at no cost to Miami County Residents and was built using federal funding and a grant through the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections.
This is a Minimum-Security Facility, with an intended 25-30-year lifespan, and is only meant to house lower-classified inmates; no high-degree felons or non-violent offenders. The facility was also opened with the intent to house federal inmates and inmates from other Ohio counties in efforts to offset operating costs. The facility had to close in 2009 due to the recession, sending non-Miami County inmates back to their counties and releasing Miami County inmates back to the streets. In 2013, jail population was on the rise again and the Incarceration Facility was reopened, remaining in operation today.
