Overview

Born in 1818 on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, Western State Penitentiary would be the first manifestation of Pennsylvania's vision for a new prison system. Housing both men and women, its role was to reform rather than punish its inmates. It was even visited by famed author Charles Dickens, and his visit may have inspired his beloved A Christmas Carol. While often overshadowed by Eastern State Penitentiary, Western Pen would eventually emerge as a leader in prison reform throughout the nineteenth century. After its role housing Confederate prisoners in the Civil War, Western Pen would embrace the emerging Industrial Revolution, adapting inmate labor and promoting reform through a new prison, showcasing many world firsts. However, as the twentieth century dawned, Western Pen would fall from leading the nation's penal institutions, crippled by politically driven legislation. Its inmates would contribute to the nation's war efforts with their labor and experience the turmoil of the Civil Rights era, all behind its thick, stone walls. Western Pen would struggle for survival throughout the century as it lost control of its own destiny to the state's centralization of power. While it would close its doors for a final time in 2017, its impact lives on through the institutions it inspired.

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