Missouri State Penitentiary Tours - Jefferson City, Missouri
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 38° 34.386 W 092° 09.728
15S E 572986 N 4269737
Retired in 2004, was the oldest operating prison west of the Mississippi at the time.
Waymark Code: WM10379
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 02/17/2019
Views: 0
County of site: Cole County
Location of site: 115 Lafayette St., Jefferson City
Opened in 1836
Closed in 2004
"In 1967, the Missouri State Penitentiary was called "Bloodiest 47 Acres in America" by Time magazine due to 550 serious assaults inside the walls.
Tour the oldest continually operating prison west of the Mississippi. The Missouri State Penitentiary (MSP) was decommissioned in 2004 and now serves as a great historic landmark in downtown Jefferson City
Walk through Sony Liston's cell and see the site where he learned to box and trained before becoming heavyweight champion in 1961.
Hear stories of escape attempts made by inmates such as trying to dig out under the wall and even a successful escape by James Earl Ray by storing himself in a bread box.: ~ Tour Pamphlet
The lengthy history of the prison, riots, infamous inmates, Sonny Liston's cell and more, can be read in detail Missouri Penitentiary History
"This wasn’t a place you wanted to be. When this prison opened in 1836, the Battle of the Alamo was going on in Texas and Andrew Jackson was in his second term as president. The Missouri prison had already been housing convicts for 100 years when Alcatraz began taking inmates. Before it closed in 2004, Missouri State Penitentiary (MSP) was the oldest continually operating penitentiary west of the Mississippi River.
"The Missouri State Pen was decommissioned in 2004; all inmates were transferred to more modern facilities. The administration building was demolished to make room for a new federal courthouse." ~ Missouri Department of Economic Development
A great presentation of the two hour tour can be vied here: The Walking Tourist