Posted in West Virginia April 09, 2015 by

Walking Through The West Virginia State Penitentiary Is Bone-Chilling

One of the most famous tourist destinations in West Virginia is the West Virginia State Penitentiary. The gothic-style architecture is just amazing and the prison is supposedly haunted! I toured the prison when I was much younger and it honestly frightened me. The noises that the prison makes because it is so old are just unnerving and the peeling paint on all of the walls is just plain depressing.

We’re aware that these uncertain times are limiting many aspects of life as we all practice social and physical distancing. While we’re continuing to feature destinations that make our state wonderful, we don’t expect or encourage you to go check them out immediately. We believe that supporting local attractions is important now more than ever and we hope our articles inspire your future adventures! And on that note, please nominate your favorite local business that could use some love right now: https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/nominate/
1) The West Virginia State Penitentiary, which is now closed down as a prison, was opened from 1876 to 1995.
Sean_Marshall Flickr
2) The prison, which is located in Moundsville, WV, is now used as a training facility and it is also opened to tours.
Brook Ward Flickr
3) The first section that was built was the North Wagon Gate, which is made with hand-cut sandstone.
Doug Focht Flickr
4) The walls surrounding the prison are 24 feet high and 6 feet wide at the base, with foundations that are 5 feet deep.
Mike Flickr
5) The state used the prisoners for labor during the construction. The total cost was only $363,061.
Taber Andrew Bain Flickr
6) The prison had North and South cell block areas.
Doug Focht Flickr
The South Hall had 224 cells and the North Hall had a kitchen, dining room, hospital, and the chapel which is pictured above.
7) Not only did some of the prisoners help build the prison, they also had many jobs there that made the prison almost self-sufficient.
Doug Focht Flickr
Some of the jobs included a carpentry shop, a paint shop, a wagon shop, a stone yard, a bakery, and a hospital.
8) At the turn of the 20th century, the prison was doing well and the conditions there were good.
Doug Focht Flickr
This definitely changed, though. The facility would later on be ranked on the United States Department of Justice's Top Ten Most Violent Correctional Facilities list.
9) Charles Manson requested to be transferred to this very prison so that he could be closer to family, but his request ended up being declined.
Ross Day Flickr
10) 94 men were executed at this prison, 85 of those deaths being hangings.
Sean_Marshall Flickr
Paul Glenn, one of the inmates at the prison, actually built the electric chair nicknamed "Old Sparky" in 1951. Nine men died in this chair until execution was outlawed in 1965.

If only those walls could talk! Think of the crazy things that went down in this prison, from riots to executions! As if I never wanted to go to prison before, I definitely don’t now!

What are some things that you would like to see written about in an article about West Virginia? Comment below!