From Barren Ground to Stone Institution: The West Virginia State Penitentiary’s Turbulent First Decade 1866 to 1876

By David L Neidert

"Here in Moundsville," wrote a newspaper correspondent in 1876, "is located the West Virginia State Penitentiary, one of the finest buildings the state built of freestone, the workmanship of building is very fine indeed." He and others who visited the prison over the years viewed it as economically operated with clean convict cells, orderly inmate conduct, buzzing workshops producing quality goods, and leadership fit for their role. If these guests could have only interviewed the quarried stone standing silently around them, they would have heard other details that revealed the turbulence of this institution's existence.The West Virginia State Penitentiary's story from 1866 to 1876 is filled with complexity as witnessed by the freestone. The reality did contain visionary leadership and order, but also difficult legislative decisions, controversy and debate, investigations, improprieties, power struggles, and the ingenuity of convicts for escape. From Barren Ground to Stone Institution chronicles this decade's development and behind the scenes labor for what became a state and federal prison. It narrates the foundational enterprises of an institution that housed thousands of inmates during its use over 129 years. This offering is an account vital to the Mountain State's history and its use of the penal system that ideally hoped to reform those who, by their choices, ran afoul of this country's legal system.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1737300370
• ISBN13: 9781737300373
• Release Date: September 2024
• Publisher: D. L. Neidert
• Length: 267 Pages
• Weight: 1.03 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.6" x 6.0"