AMERICAN HAUNTINGS GHOST HUNTS
NIGHT AT THE OLD BLACKFORD COUNTY JAIL
HARTFORD CITY, INDIANA
SEE AVAILABLE DATES BELOW
7:00 PM TO 2:00 AM | $68 PER PERSON
JUNE 11, 2022: SOLD OUT!
AUGUST 20, 2022: CLICK HERE FOR RESERVATIONS!
For more than two centuries, America’s jails and prisons have boasted an inordinate number of ghost reports and sightings. The amount of trauma, pain, and terror experienced by the incarcerated often leaves a lingering sensation behind. The horrible events carried out by those locked away – along with the horrible events that occur behind prison walls – can cause the spirits of those who lived and died behind bars to remain behind. America’s prisons and jails can be terrifying places – for those in this world and the next.
And such is the case with the old Blackford County Jail.
Are you brave enough to American Hauntings at one of the most haunted jails in the Midwest? We’re going inside the chilling confines of the old Blackford County Jail in Hartford City, Indiana, a place so haunted that seasoned ghost hunters have fled from the building! You’ve heard the stories but now you can experience it for yourself!
The first Blackford County Jail was a log cabin located on the courthouse square, but it was replaced by this brick structure in the 1870s. There are 6 cells in the main cell block. Their walls are made from granite that was brought down from Michigan and are well over a foot thick. Beginning in 1877, it was also the home for the Blackford County Sheriff.
The jail’s most famous visitor was Indiana native son, John Dillinger. The famed gangster would frequently visit local sheriff’s departments under an alias in order to see what he might be up against while planning his bank robberies. Dillinger visited the jail while planning his robbery of the bank in nearby Montpelier.
In over a century of operation, only a handful of prisoners ever escaped from the jail. During one incident, the jail was being updated and a new drainage system was installed. While work was going on, two men slipped away.
Another man, a “lunatic” named Gar Williams escaped from the jail. Williams had been confined to a hospital for the insane in Richmond two weeks earlier. He escaped from there and when officials refused to take him back, he was brought to the Blackford County Jail. While behind bars, he told a jail attendant, “I just want to get away long enough to go back to Montpelier and kill my wife.” A few hours later, he had mysteriously vanished. Mrs. Williams was immediately placed in protective custody and Williams himself was recaptured a short time later.
But it has been the men who haven’t escaped that linger here today. For them, there is no escape – even in death. Executions were held here – outside when the weather permitted or inside the jail when it didn’t. There have also been many tragedies in the jail over the years.
In 1977, two sheriffs died over a short period of time. In February, Sheriff Harold L. McCollum died of cancer. Two weeks later, his successor Edward W. Townsend suffered a fatal heart attack while in his office at the jail.
The old jail closed down years ago and has been empty ever since – or has it?
For decades, stories have maintained that the old jail is haunted by the inmates and staff members of the past.
The first owner of the jail after it closed stated that he was there for two years before he saw anything unusual, but when he did, he never forgot it! According to his account, “One night, I was lying in bed. I saw a rather large gentleman wearing a white shirt enter the room. He paused at the foot of the bed and looked at me. I later described him to a friend who was more familiar with the history of the building, and he said that sounds like Ed.”
The niece of the former sheriff, Ed Townsend, worked nearby, so he described the man that he saw to her. She showed him a photo of Sheriff Townsend and the man was shocked. “That was the man I had seen!” he said.
Ghost hunters who have braved the building have reported uncomfortable and uneasy feelings, the slamming of the cell door, shadowy figures throughout the jail, mysterious voices that can’t be explained, equipment failures and malfunctions, unexplained banging, apparitions, physical interactions, and more!
Do you have the courage to join us at this eerie spot? There’s only one way to find out – so get signed up now!