The Olde Jaol is a popular location for dark history enthusiasts– but often mistaken for the historical Ashland County Courthouse as the site of the LAST recorded public execution in Ohio.

We love correcting that misconception– and sharing the REAL history!

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_{Rather than the site of the last recorded execution, the Jaol’s location is recorded as being the only site for a public-execution to ever occur in Wayne County– with the Jaol serving it’s only sentence of execution on December 3, 1880. This followed a 100-day stay of execution, after which the first and only gallows of Wayne County was erected in just 3 days time!}

_{On a cold December morning, for the brutal murder of esteemed community member John Tormie, second-generation Irish-American John Callahan’s sentence of hanging was completed, much to the objection of many individuals within various communities.¹}

_{¹ A Historical Synopsis of the Murder of John Tormie and Resulting Execution | The Clio}

On October 2, 1879, John Callahan killed John Tormie at the old Wayne County Fairground following a brawl between Callahan and his friends and Tormie and his brother-in-law. Tormie’s murder provoked public outrage, as he was an esteemed member of the community. Contrastingly, John Callahan, a second-generation American whose father was an Irish immigrant, was the victim of the anti-Irish sentiment of the time period. According to a previous exhibit by the Wooster Digital History Project, “Many Woosterites interpreted Callahan’s actions as typical of the ‘belligerence of being an immigrant’ or, as some put it in the local newspaper ‘the drunken Irishman’ acting out”. This sentiment may have been connected to his eventual public execution, as Callahan, who was twenty-two years old at the time of his death, is the only person to have been hanged as a means of execution in Wayne County. Although 2,000 members of the community appealed to Governor Charles Foster to spare Callahan’s life, their attempt was unsuccessful. 5,000 people attended the hanging and 3,000 came to see Callahan’s body the next day.

_{Sofia Biegeleisen on behalf of Wooster Digital History Project. “Old Wayne County Jail.” Clio: Your Guide to History. July 2, 2018.}

Visitors and workers of the Olde Jaol have reported what some could call “ghostly activities”.

The fine dining area of the Olde Jaol  was once upon a time the cell block. Said to be haunted by the only person ever to be hanged in Wayne County– he served time in a cell on the basement floor while above him in the courtyard he saw his looming fate growing over three days and nights.

Flickering lights, banging of steel bars and unexplainable calls to the tavern (in the former jail garage) from the dining phone are all blamed on his ghost. These happenings usually occur late in the evening or in the early morning hours.

_{Little is known of the life of John Tormie, he is best known as the father of Pearl May Early (born Pearl May Tormie).}

_{Pearly May Early was an American actress and songstress in the early 19th century. The Wooster native was born to Tormie a mere year before the tragic passing of her father. This passing clearly only served to embolden her drive for life. In her career Tormie would become known as the number one act of the Musical Comedy Company at the Bijou Theater in Richmond, Virginia.}

_{She would go on to marry John Early and perform as a duo with her partner until gracing the silver screen beside famous musicians such as Bing Crosby and Mary Martin, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, the Dorsey brothers and Benny Goodman.}

_{She starred in films such as “Lady for a Night,” a drama starring John Wayne; the comedic “My Favorite Blonde,” starring Bob Hope; and “In Old California,” another John Wayne flick. Not to be outdone by anyone however, she also devoted time to helping her country by selling war bonds during World War II.}

_{Pearl May is truly one of the most iconic individuals to ever come from Wooster, and the world would seldom know if it wasn’t for the sacrifice of her father and a landmark decision that altered the history of Wooster forever!}

1. Henry McClarren– self proclaimed Wooster Historical Scholar– recorded his address in his letter to the Daily Record as ‘Pearl Street’. Pearl Street is rumored to be named after Pearl May Early, whose birth name was Pearl May Tormie– the daughter of John Tormie.
2. Wooster Ohio was named after American Revolutionary ‘David Wooster’.
3. The Third Jaol of Wayne County was designed in a way that allowed each cell to be heated individually during winter months, making it much more heat efficient than comparable buildings of the time.
4. Ye Olde Jaol was featured in the Jan-Feb 1982 Edition of The Western Reserve Magazine.
5. Jaol is the Olde-English spelling of ‘Jail’.
6. Wooster’s slogan, according to a century old contest, is “Wooster, the City of Progress”.

Other Sources Cited:

_{https://www.the-daily-record.com/story/lifestyle/2020/09/18/wayne-county-fair-site-stabbing-1879/5788870002/}

_{https://thebargainhunter.com/news/features/local-woman-overcame-tragedy-to-make-it-on-stage}

_{https://thebargainhunter.com/news/features/since-1817-wayne-county-has-had-4-jails-in-wooster}

_{https://wiki.wcpl.info/w/1865_Wayne_County_Jail_Building}