FIRST - State Prison in Illinois - Alton, Illinois
Posted by: BruceS
N 38° 53.479 W 090° 11.373
15S E 743754 N 4308471
Site of the first state prison in Illinois, located in downtown Alton.
Waymark Code: WMRHF
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 09/26/2006
Views: 28
"Ruins of the first state prison in Illinois. Built in 1830-31. Unsanitary conditions aroused persistent criticism from Dorothea Dix, pioneer in prison reform. All inmates were transferred to Joliet prior to 1860. During the Civil War many Confederate prisoners were incarcerated here and deaths averaged to ten a day." ~ text of historic marker
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