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Location DB > United States > West Virginia > Moundsville > Moundsville State Penitentiary
 Name
Moundsville State Penitentiary
 Viewing Options
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 Database Info
created by Miss_Informed on 3/10/2005 4:53 AM
last modified by Emperor Wang on 9/3/2021 10:13 PM
 Viewability
Publically Viewable Publically Viewable
This location has been labeled by its creator as Public, and therefore can be viewed by anyone.
 Overview
 Description
Only surviving example of a Gothic-style prison in West Virginia. OLD SPARKY is here!
 Basic Information
Type: Building
Status: Active -:- Museum
Accessibility: Easy -:- Just pay the fee
Recommendation: worth the trip
 Physical Information
Address
818 Jefferson Avenue
Moundsville, West Virginia
United States
Owner: Moundsville Economic Development Council
  • See a map of this location
  •  Hazards
     Interesting Features
    Haven't enough words in my vocabulary ... just get there if you can.
     Security Measures
  • fences
  • barbed wire
  • razor wire
  • part-time guard
  • 24 hour guard
  • locked gates
  • welded doors
  • wooden boarding
  • unless of course you just pay the fee and get yer butt in there
  •  Historical Dates
    Built: 1886
    Closed: 1994
     Required Equipment
  • flashlight
  • CAMERA
  •  Recommended Equipment

     History
    The prison at Joliet provided the prototype for the West Virginia Penitentiary. It was an imposing stone structure fashioned in the castellated Gothic architectural style (adorned with turrets and battlements, like a castle). Only the dimensions of West Virginia's facility would differ; it would be approximately one-half the size of Joliet.
    No architectural drawings of the West Virginia Penitentiary have been discovered, so an understanding of the plan developed by the Board of Directors must be obtained through their 1867 report, which details the procurement of a title for ten acres of land and a proposal to enclose about seven acres. On the north side would be a street 60 feet in width, and on the west 140 feet for street and yard to the front buildings.

    The prison yard would be a parallelogram 682 1/2 feet in length, by 352 1/2 feet in width, enclosed by a stone wall 5 feet in thickness at the bottom, 2 1/2 feet at the top, with foundation 5 feet below the surface, and wall 25 inches thick. At each of the corners of this wall would be large turrets for the use of the guards having inside staircases, with guardrooms above and on a level with the top of the main. The superintendent's house and cell buildings would be so placed, that the rear wall of each will form part of the west wall.


    After West Virginia seceded from Virginia in 1863, the new state had to quickly address the need for public institutions. In 1866, an act of the state legislature directed the purchase of a plot of land in Moundsville for the state penitentiary. Moundsville was chosen as the site due to its proximity to the then-state capitol in Wheeling.
    The North Wagon Gate was the first building of the complex to be constructed. It served as living quarters for the 150 inmates who worked to construct the state's second oldest public building. The hand-cut sandstone used to build the walls was quarried nearby.

    The first phase of the West Virginia Penitentiary was completed in 1876 at a total cost of $363,061. The complex surrounded the North Wagon Gate and included north and south cellblock areas, an administration building and a home for the warden and his family located in the center towering 4-story section of the gothic structures.

    The building extended 682 feet across the front and was engulfed by 24-foot high walls that are 6-feet in width at the base and tapered to 18 inches at the top. The facility opened for full operation in 1876 with 251 male inmates.

    Once the construction of the Penitentiary was complete, the inmates were then focused on jobs that must be completed in order to support any community. A variety of industries were located within the walls of the prison including a blacksmith, wagon shop, carpentry shop, brickyard, stone yard, paint shop, tailor, bakery and hospital.

    The first execution at the Penitentiary took place in 1899 when the state took over the responsibility from the countries. During the history of the prison, a total of 94 men were executed. From 1899-1949, eighty-five men were hung, and, from 1951-1959, nine men were electrocuted.


    Conditions at the West Virginia Penitentiary at the turn of the century were improving. A Warden's report from the early 1900's stated that, "both the quantity and the quality of all the purchases of material, food and clothing have been very gradually, but steadily, improved, while the discipline has become more nearly perfect and the exaction of labor less stringent."
    Educational efforts were being made at this time, and inmates regularly attended class. A new school and library were constructed in 1900 in an effort to help reform prisoners.

    The prison continued with its existing industries, and explored other sources of revenue for the Penitentiary. In the early 1900's income from the prison farm and inmate labor made the Penitentiary virtually self-sufficient. A prison coalmine was open in 1921 and provided the Penitentiary with coal and saved the state an estimated $14,000 per year in fuel costs. The mine was located approximately one mile from the prison and inmates mining coal were permitted to stay at the camp under the supervision of a coal mine supervisor who was not an employee of the prison.

    In 1929, a massive expansion to double the size of the Penitentiary began. The New Wall construction was not completed until 1959 due to steel shortage during World War II. The construction eased the overcrowding that had caused the need for triple bunking in the prison's 5 x 7 foot cells. As with the prison's first phase of construction, the use of inmate labor helped to defray the cost of construction.

    The last execution by hanging in the State of West Virginia took place in 1949. In 1951 the State began using an electric chair that had been built by an inmate for executions. Until the state abolished the death penalty in 1959, nine men had been sent to their death by electrocution. The original electric chair is now on display in the facility and is part of the tour that visitors see while at the prison.


    The final years of the West Virginia Pen were by marked by many disturbances including riots and escapes.
    The prison population peaked in early 1960's with a total of 2,000 but as new prisons were built, by the time the facility closed, the population had decreased to 600-700.

    In 1986, the West Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the Penitentiary's 5 x 7 cells were cruel and unusual punishment. The Penitentiary closed its doors in 1995, and the majority of the inmates were moved to the new Mt. Olive Correctional Complex in Mt. Olive, West Virginia. A smaller complex consisting of a correctional facility and regional jail was constructed in Moundsville.

    Upon the closing of the Penitentiary, the Moundsville Economic Development Council obtained a 25-year lease on the facility. The facility has been named to the National Register of Historic Places and is utilized for historical and educational tours and the National Corrections and Law Enforcement Training and Technology Center.
     Media Coverage
    Google it.
     Future Plans
    The Council has been turning this former prison into a multiuse facility. There is a museum with daytime tours of the cell blocks and yards. The former Warden's quarters are slated to be made into a bed and breakfast. And for the intrepid explorer, you may spend the night in the prison accompanied by your flashlight and camera.

    In addition to these touristy things, the prison is being used for mock riot training and has a live shooting range for guard training.
     Stories


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     Photo Galleries
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    Day Tour Photos
    Fri, Apr 15th, 2005
    posted by Oherian
    10 pictures
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    Opheliaism's Pics
    Tue, Jul 25th, 2006
    posted by Opheliaism
    25 pictures
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    just a few
    Fri, Jul 28th, 2006
    posted by muskratwombat
    8 pictures
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    daytime
    Wed, Aug 16th, 2006
    posted by [dh]
    10 pictures
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    nighttime
    Wed, Aug 16th, 2006
    posted by [dh]
    25 pictures
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    2019
    Thu, May 9th, 2019
    posted by Kurt
    9 pictures


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     Web Links
    http://www.wvpentours.com/

    http://www.visitmo...inia-penitentiary/
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     Validation
    This location's validation is current. It was last validated by Emperor Wang on 9/3/2021 10:14 PM.

     Latest Changes
  • on Sep 3 21 at 22:14, Emperor Wang validated this location
  • on Sep 3 21 at 22:13, Emperor Wang changed the following: History, Description
  • on Sep 3 21 at 3:47, Kurt changed the following: Web Links
  • on Sep 3 21 at 3:47, Kurt changed the following: Description
  • on Sep 3 21 at 3:45, Kurt updated gallery picture
  • on Sep 3 21 at 3:45, Kurt updated gallery picture
  • on Sep 3 21 at 3:45, Kurt updated gallery picture
  • on Sep 3 21 at 3:45, Kurt updated gallery picture
  • on Sep 3 21 at 3:45, Kurt updated gallery picture
  • on Sep 3 21 at 3:45, Kurt updated gallery picture
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