240 West Indiana Avenue

The Old County Jail

Much has been written about the historic old Wood County Jail, now an apartment building at 240 West Indiana Avenue at the corner of Findlay Street.

In 1822 Congress enacted a law vesting the title of all unsold lots in Perrysburg to the Wood County commissioners on condition that the county seat be moved here from Maumee and a courthouse and jail be built. If this sounds unusual, it must be remembered that Perrysburg had been created by an act of Congress just six years earlier and was still a wild timbered tract of land with virtually no inhabitants. In fact, there were slightly less than 200 people in all of Wood County at the time.

The following year, the Exchange Hotel and the first courthouse, a two-story log building located nearby along the blazed trail that was to become West Front Street, were built. Material from the jail at Maumee was moved here at a cost of $48, plus an additional $25 allocated for repairs incidental to the move. Square logs were cut, most of them within walking distance of the site, and a two-story jail built with little more than slits for windows. It is said that the contractor took part of the cost (a little over $400) in the form of town lots worth $12 each.

This original jail was soon found to be too small and was enlarged, but it lasted until 1847 when the present building -- a veritable fortress by comparison -- was built on Indiana Avenue. This is now by far the oldest civic structure in town.

From a security standpoint, the new jail was a work of art. Actually, it was the work of a now unknown architect who was paid all of $15 for designing and supervising its construction by Schuyler Beach, a local builder and merchant. The cost was $1,250.

The frame of the building is of black walnut hand-hewn beams with rafters and joints mortised and pinned with wooden pegs. The walls are made of four layers of small handmade brick, but in the jail section proper, the walls and floor are of stone blocks three feet long, two feet thick and two feet high. These are held together by cannonball keys set in hemispheres cut in the top and side of each block. Within these walls was an 8 x 30-foot bullpen with six 5 x 6-foot cells. The bullpen door consisted of two thicknesses of walnut plank one and one half inches thick, with a sheet of lead between and held together by dozens of large iron rivets. One of the original cell doors, made of iron mesh and weighing about 250 pounds, is still intact.

The front of the first floor was the sheriff's residence, and over the years seven different sheriffs lived and worked here. The upstairs was once used as an infirmary for the dangerously insane.

Needless to say, there was never a breakout due to an insecure structure. But there was an escape attempt shortly after the Civil War. Charles Evers, who was to become a Wood County historian, was sheriff at the time when two prisoners ambushed him when he entered the bullpen. His wife, following closely, quickly slammed and locked the door. Mrs. Evers assured them she would never unlock it, even when they threatened to kill her husband. Her plucky gamble paid off and they eventually sulked back to their cells. Even so, a caged prisoner seems never without hope. Many years later a rusty hacksaw blade was found in a crack in the plaster above the door of one cell.

The jail continued in use until 1870 when the county seat moved to Bowling Green. The village then took it over and operated it as the local jail, at least for the time under the care of George B. Crook who was given free residence plus 75 cents per day per prisoner. In 1899 the village built the old brick municipal building adjoining the west side of what is now Mills Hardware on West Second Street. This housed city hall, the police and fire departments and two portable jail cells until the present facilities were built at Indiana Avenue and Hickory Street.

In 1918 William Schlect bought the old county jail building, and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hoffman Sr. later acquired it from him. Charles and Daisy Hoffman purchased it from his parent's estate in 1957 and remodeled it into a three-apartment facility, carefully preserving its architectural and historical integrity. In 1960 it became the second Perrysburg building to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

343 West Indiana Avenue

The Yeager House

At one time 343 West Indiana Avenue was on the outskirts of town. But it was there that a German settler by the name of Yeager chose his homestead. Because of their later prominence and the fact that as many as four generations of the family lived there right up until 1985, this article will focus on more than just the builder -- who is unknown.

The first Yeager occupant of the house, built in the 1830s, was John J. Yeager, a farmer immigrant from Alsace, France, who came to Perrysburg in 1842. His name is listed as the owner of the property in county records of 1848. When he arrived here he stayed at the Spafford Exchange Hotel and the next day went to work for John Hollister, an influential merchant and businessman in town. Later, two of Mr. Yeager's grandparents arrived here from Alsace just eight weeks before the cholera epidemic of 1854 and both were victims.

Exactly what occupation he pursued is not clear, but at the outbreak of the Civil War he organized a company of infantry of which he was captain, a local title kept for the rest of his life. The group became a part of the 111th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and Mr. Yeager was present at the siege of Knoxville and several other engagements. He was discharged in 1864 due to illness.

He later became a Wood County commissioner, was a founder of Wolford Post, G.A.R., and an elder in the Methodist Church. He died in 1891, passing along the house to his son, Frederick.

The house is a frame Greek Revival of two and one-half stories and is described as a "temple" style farm house. The front entrance is of simple Greek composition without sidelights but with a recessed door. The front pediment contains a triangular light (window), the roof has a shallow pitch (it was originally tin) and there is a broad fascia. Their return at the gable ends are characteristic of its style. The house formerly had shutters on all windows.

Frederick Yeager, who was born here in 1844, operated Yeager Dry Goods for 22 years. He attended Baldwin-Wallace College and when the call to arms came he, like his father, joined the Union army and saw combat. Upon his return he farmed for three years before embarking in the mercantile business. During his long lifetime (he died at 85 in 1929), he was Perrysburg's mayor and postmaster, township clerk, township treasurer, county treasurer and served on the school board for 11 years.

Next in line was Frederick's son, John O. Yeager. He was born in 1870 and during his 75 years here served as mayor and the superintendent of the Methodist Church Sunday school. His daughter, Madelyn (Mrs. Lee Hartshorn), was born in 1893. She was the first registered nurse to graduate from Ohio State University and she lived in the family house until making her residence at Heartland of Perrysburg where she died at 95 in May of 1990, leaving no immediate relatives.