U.S. Penitentiary Leavenworth

by Lamaster, Kenneth M.

• ISBN13: 9780738550916
• ISBN10: 0738550914
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-04-09
• Publisher: Arcadia Pub

Summary

On July 1, 1895, under the direction of warden James French, the first federal prison was born. That same year, St. Louis architects Eames and Young went to work drawing up plans for an institution that would house the most notorious offenders in the nation’s history. At sunrise on March 1, 1897, 300 inmates and 30 guards marched three miles to the construction site located on the southwest corner of the military reservation. From sunup to sundown seven days a week in the hot Kansas summer to the harsh prairie winters, inmates labored building their new home. Leavenworth’s rich history as a gateway to the Old West is second to none. Name a famous figure such as George Armstrong Custer, John Joseph Pershing, Dwight D. Eisenhower, or Colin Powell. They have all graced the streets of this historic community. Equally pick a name of the most notorious criminals. George Machine Gun” Kelly, Robert F. Stroud, Frank Nash, Frank the Enforcer” Nitti, and George Buggs” Moran—they all stopped by to spend time in Leavenworth.”

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. 6
Introduction	p. 7
The Old Military Prison	p. 9
The Early Years	p. 21
For Bad Men Only	p. 31
Escape	p. 45
Cell Houses	p. 53
Inmate Hands are Not Idle Hands	p. 63
Work Assignments	p. 73
Scenes	p. 83
Hacks	p. 95
People, Places	p. 109
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