Missouri State Penitentiary, Jefferson City, Missouri

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Missouri’s infamous maximum-security facility was the oldest continuously operating prison west of the Mississippi, described by Time magazine as “the bloodiest 47 acres in America”. The prison operated from 1836 until finally being decommissioned in 2004, and within that time there were riots, escapes, violent attacks and executions. In 1937 a bill was passed in the state allowing execution by lethal gas. A total of 40 men and women were put to death in the gas chamber here until capital punishment inmates were moved to a new prison.

America's abandoned prisons you can visit (msn.com)

Missouri State Penitentiary, Jefferson City, Missouri Missouri’s infamous maximum-security facility was the oldest continuously operating prison west of the Mississippi, described by Time magazine as “the bloodiest 47 acres in America”. The prison operated from 1836 until finally being decommissioned in 2004, and within that time there were riots, escapes, violent attacks and executions. In 1937 a bill was passed in the state allowing execution by lethal gas. A total of 40 men and women were put to death in the gas chamber here until capital punishment inmates were moved to a new prison.