West Virginia Travel Destination & Attractions | Visit West Virginia State Penitentiary Show

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West Virginia Travel Destination & Attractions | Visit West Virginia State Penitentiary Show In 1863, West Virginia seceded from Virginia at the height of the American Civil War. Consequently, the new state had a shortage of various public institutions, including prisons; the Wagon Gate was the only building at this site during the Civil War. From 1863 to 1866, Governor Arthur I. Boreman lobbied the West Virginia Legislature for a state penitentiary but was repeatedly denied.[3] The Legislature at first tried to direct him to send the prisoners to other institutions out of the state, and then they directed him to use existing county jails, which turned out to be inadequate.[3] After nine inmates escaped in 1865, the local press took up the cause, and the Legislature took action.[3] On February 7, 1866, the state legislature approved the purchase of land in Moundsville for the purpose of constructing a state prison.[3] Ten acres were purchased just outside of the then city limits of Moundsville for $3000.[3] Moundsville proved an attractive site, as it is approximately twelve miles south of Wheeling, West Virginia, which at that time was the state capital.[2][3][4] The state built a temporary wooden prison nearby that summer. This gave prison officials time to assess what prison design should be used. Northern Illinois Penitentiary at Joliet proved to be an attractive design. Its Gothic Revival architecture "exhibit[ed], as much as possible, great strength and convey[ed] to the mind a cheerless blank indicative of the misery which awaits the unhappy being who enters within its walls."[3] The first building constructed on the site was the North Wagon Gate.[2] It was made with hand-cut sandstone, which was quarried from a local site.[2] The state used prison labor during the construction process, and work continued on this first phase until 1876.[2] When completed, the total cost was of $363,061.[2] In addition to the North Wagon Gate, there was now north and south cellblock areas (both measuring 300 ft. by 52 ft.[3]).[2] South Hall had 224 cells (7 ft. by 4 ft.), and North Hall had a kitchen, dining area, hospital, and chapel.[3] A 4-story tower connecting the two was the administration building (measuring 75 ft. by 75 ft.[3]).[2] It included space for female inmates and personal living quarters for the warden and his family.[2][3] The facility officially opened in this year, and it had a prison population of 251 male inmates, including some who had helped construct the very prison that now held them.[2] After this phase, work began on prison workshops and other secondary facilities.[3] In addition to construction, the inmates had other jobs to do in support of the prison. In the early 1900s some industries within the prison walls included a carpentry shop, a paint shop, a wagon shop, a stone yard, a brickyard, a blacksmith, a tailor, a bakery, and a hospital. At the same time, revenue from the prison farm and inmate labor helped the prison financially. It was virtually self-sufficient. A prison coal mine located a mile away opened in 1921. This mine helped serve some of the prison's energy needs and saved the state an estimated $14,000 a year. Some inmates were allowed to stay at the mine's camp under the supervision of a mine foreman, who was not a prison employee.[2] Conditions at the prison during the turn of the 20th century were good, according to a warden's report, which 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." Education was a priority for the inmates during this time. They regularly attended class. Construction on a school and library was completed in 1900 to help reform and educate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Virginia_State_Penitentiary West Virginia State PenitentiaryShow, West Virginia State Penitentiary Tour, Visit West Virginia State Penitentiary, West Virginia State Penitentiary Travel, West Virginia State Penitentiary , West Virginia State Penitentiary Attractions , West Virginia State Penitentiary Travel Destination, Travelvideoclip2015 , West Virginia State Penitentiary Attraction, West Virginia State Penitentiary show, West Virginia State Penitentiary ; West Virginia State Penitentiary is a county in the U.S. state of , West Virginia;