Alton Illinois State Penitentiary - Alton, Illinois
Posted by: Groundspeak Charter Member BruceS
N 38° 53.479 W 090° 11.373
15S E 743754 N 4308471
Ruins of the first state penitentiary in Illinois.
Waymark Code: WMRH6
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 09/26/2006
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member deano1943
Views: 125

HyperLinkConstructed in 1830-31 the Illinois State Penitentiary in Alton was persistently criticized for its unsanitary conditions by Dorothea Dix, a pioneer in prison reform. The prison was closed in 1860 when the last prisoners were transferred to the new state penitentiary in Joliet. With the advent of the Civil War, the prison was reopened as the Alton Federal Military Prison. The prison was used to incarcerate Confederate prisoners with the first prisoners to arrive February 9, 1862. Over the next three years over 11,764 Confederate prisoners would enter the prison. The conditions at the prison were harsh and deaths averaged six to ten a day. The prison was again closed July 7, 1865. Currently only one short stone wall of the prison remain on site.
 

Address:
Broadway and Williams Streets
Alton, Illinois


Open to the public: Yes

Hours:
Open area, common sense and good manners all you need


Fees?:
0


Web link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
In order to add a new log to the waymark of this category, simply take another photo of the prison from a different angle than the other posts. Also add to the history of the jail when possible.
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wildernessmama visited Alton Illinois State Penitentiary - Alton, Illinois 11/02/2013 wildernessmama visited it
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