Wardens
1839-2003
Time Line
1839-2003
IOWA
Iowa State
Penitentiary
Old Photographs
Mississippi River
The original design, copied from a Wethersfield, Connecticut prison, called for a single cell house for 1536 inamtes. This cell house which is two hundred feet by forty-four feet in size, was also to house the Warden, the blacksmith, a shoemaker, and a copperage factory for inmate employment. This "priosn", was built on ten acres of land that was donated to the Territory of Iowa by local citizens, and was completed in 1841 at a cost of $55,933.30 .
The prison has grown from that original cell house and 10 acres to the present day, 50 acres complex.
Origininally, the prison was to house only older inmates with the most henious of crimes - such as rape, horse thieving, or muder. Over the years, this concept was changed and at one time even several women were included in the population. ISP was designed to be and remains the State's only maximum security prison. As the population of Iowa and the correctional system grew, younger prisoners were introduced into Ft. Madison.
The first 93 years of the prison saw many additios of cell houses and work shops, but no icrease in the original size of the walled area. In 1932, seven additioal acres were added to thes area . To accomplish this, a hill was moved and a stone wall added, entirely with inmate labor.
This project allowed, for this first time, a recreation area to be included inside the Penitentiary. In 1940, outside teams were first allowed to come in and complete with inmate teams in several sport competitions.
The original cell house (cell house 17), started in 1839, is still standing, but during the 1980s all inmate were removed. Some officers that make fire and security rounds in the now empty building claim it stands silently empty with eerie sounds of the past 165 years..
Photo coverage
Construction of
*Cell house 18
*Table Factory
*Chair Factory
Reconditioned Automobiles
The Presidio
Visitors
Visitors
Visitors
