west virginia penitentiary tours

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Behind Bars: Touring the West Virginia Penitentiary

The West Virginia State Penitentiary is an imposing, gothic style prison located in Moundsville, WV. It operated from 1876 to 1995. Now open for tours, it stands as a monument to a bygone era, and provides ongoing testimony to man’s inhumanity to man.

The town of Moundsville is interesting in its own right, having derived its name from several Adena Indian burial mounds constructed more than 2000 years ago that are located in the area — including the largest conical burial mound in North America, Grave Creek Burial Mound, right across the street from the penitentiary. Ironically, Moundsville is a land of sacred pasts.

In 1863, West Virginia seceded from Virginia at the height of the Civil War. Unfortunately, as a new state, it lacked public institutions, including prisons; After nine inmates escaped in 1865 from county and temporary facilities, the local press took up the cause, and the state legislature took action. On February 7, 1866, the state legislature approved the purchase of land in Moundsville for construction of a new prison. 

The prison inmates themselves built the facility, taking a full 10 years to complete, in 1876. When completed, the total cost was of just over $363,000. In addition to the North Wagon Gate, there was now north and south cell blocks. South Hall had 224 tiny cells (7 ft. by 4 ft.), and North Hall had a kitchen, dining area, hospital, and chapel. A four-story tower connecting the two was the administration building, and provided space for female inmates and personal living quarters for the warden and his family. 

Conditions at the prison during the turn of the 20th century were good, but deteriorated by the second half of the century as the inmate population surged to more than 2000. Inmates were housed three to a cell. The North Hall cell block was particularly horrific and was where the worst of the worst were housed. Correctional officers wore riot gear to go about their daily jobs, and were pummeled by urine, feces, and miscellaneous other objects hurled at them. 

For a great aerial tour  of the facility,  click here .

Getting there: 818 Jefferson Ave, Moundsville, WV 26041

Dogs: Actually, surprisingly, yes!!

Hours:  Open April 1st – November 30th, Closed on Federal holidays and Easter. Hours vary monthly, so please check the website.

Website: http://www.wvpentours.com For other day trip destinations, go to the Blog’s  Find a Great Place to Day Trip! If you enjoy this blog, please tell your friends about it!

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Have you daytripped somewhere interesting? I’d love to hear what you’re doing! Email [email protected] if you’re interested in being a guest-blogger! 

One Reply to “Behind Bars: Touring the West Virginia Penitentiary”

Hi Jody–I just found your blog. The West Virginia Pen trip looks great. Thanks for doing this. Susan P-F

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Attraction:

West Virginia State Penitentiary Tour

Moundsville, West Virginia

The West Virginia State Penitentiary sprawls across 11 acres. The prisoners built it, heavy rock by heavy rock, beginning in 1866. When you watch someone sentenced to "hard labor" in a movie, this place is what the judge had in mind.

That approach to justice lasted until the mid-1980s, when the West Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the prison's 5x7 foot cells were cruel and unusual punishment -- particularly because two or more convicts were often crammed into them. It was the beginning of the end for the prison as a prison. The WV State Pen closed in 1995.

Now the penitentiary is open again -- as a tourist attraction. It also occasionally stages mock prison riots (for guard training), and hosts a surprisingly popular sleepover "ghost hunt" once a month, where people spend the night in the empty, unlit buildings.

Our guide, Tom, loves his job. He can easily stretch the standard 45-minute tour into one twice that length, peppered with stories of prison riots and revenge murders and of how the inmates in North Hall -- known as "The Alamo" -- would hurl urine and vomit onto the guards.

For such a vast, empty place, the prison is loud -- concrete and steel don't muffle sound. It's clean but ugly, even if some prisoners did try to spruce the place up a bit. We notice a framed painting on the wall depicting the world's longest single arch steel span bridge (which is downstate in Fayetteville). "Danny Lehman painted that," Tom tells us. "He got stabbed through the eye in North Hall. Punctured his brain."

Another prisoner, a "trustie," built a lifelike life-size Indian family out of paper-mache for an exhibit at the big Indian Burial Mound Museum across the street. It looks great, but itwas rejected because some Christians complained about the nearly-nude Indians. Now it's on display in the old cafeteria. "This cafeteria triggered the prison's last major riot," Tom tells us. The governor ended the standoff by striking a deal: 16 hostages for a new cafeteria with heating and air conditioning -- the only building in the whole prison that would ever have such luxuries.

Our tour continues, past the "protective custody" yard where the rapists, child molesters, "rats," and "snitches" would exercise; past the "old man colony" (you had to be at least 65 and in poor health to live in it), past the open-air toilets that used to be enclosed -- until an inmate was beaten in it. The warden ordered the outer walls knocked down as a punishment.

Tom takes us back to the Wagon Gate, the oldest part of the prison. This is where he likes to stop the tour, pull an inconspicuous lever, and watch the visitors scream in horror as a dummy drops through an overhead trap door, swinging by its neck from a noose. 85 men were executed by hanging at the prison -- a public spectacle until one was accidentally decapitated. From 1949 on, "Old Sparkie" the electric chair took over.

Tom shows us The Wheel House in the administration building, a revolving door with iron bars instead of glass, which separated the Warden and his family -- who by law had to live at the prison -- from the inmates (The law was finally abolished in 1959.) .

We then enter North Hall, where the "bad, bad guys" were housed, according to Tom. This is a classic prison nightmare -- a human warehouse where the men would freeze in the winter and broil in the summer -- tier after tier of tiny cells stacked to the lofty ceiling, open-air showers on the concrete floor, prisoners fed through slots in the cell doors called "the bean hole." Tom tells us that he likes to lock his tour members in cells, then let everyone out except the most skittish person. "When everybody else's cell opens up and theirs doesn't, they really do freak out."

We wind our way through several more cell blocks (the prison has ten) and yards and end the tour at the small prison museum, a fake-wood-paneled room that somehow seems more creepy than the rest of the penitentiary. Here is a display of confiscated hand-made weapons, a replica death cell, and a hand-written letter from Charles Manson, requesting a transfer to West Virginia. (It was denied.)

Here, too, is "Old Sparkie," built by a prisoner in 1950, and for which he had to be moved to another prison in order to prevent his being killed. You can't sit in it, although Tom admits that people always ask to. Above the chair is a glass-fronted box holding the leather bag that was dropped over the condemned prisoner's head. It wasn't just for privacy. "The electricity would go down through the head," Tom explains, "and then exit the cavities of the face: the eyes, mouth, nose, and ears. It was gross to see."

Tom may enjoy his work, but he can't understand people who leave here thinking that they could handle life in a place like the West Virginia State Penitentiary. "You get people who think that, 'Oh, I could live like that'," he says. "Yeah, you could live like that for 90 minutes while you're with me. But you try it for 20 years and see if you can live like that."

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West virginia state penitentiary.

The West Virginia State Penitentiary is a National Historic Landmark at  Moundsville, West Virginia , in Marshall County .

Built in 1866, this Gothic Revival fortress, the first penal institution in West Virginia, was established to help remove the burden of housing felons from county jails. Its design allowed inmates to have daytime interaction while being separated at night. Much of the prison was built by inmates, who were required to work nine hours per day with Sundays off. Both male and female inmates were held at the state prison until 1947 when a women's facility was opened in Pence Springs, West Virginia. Many updates and expansions were made through the years until the prison was closed in 1995. The Moundsville Economic Development Council has opened former penitentiary for public tours and " ghost tours ."

Read More Penitentiary at Moundville focus of strange history LOVE-HATE tattoos have terrifying origin in West Virginia Most haunted places in West Virginia Hanging the bloodthirsty Bluebeard of Quiet Dell

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Awesome Tour - West Virginia Penitentiary

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• West Virginia Penitentiary

This is the third time I visited the prison. Garrett was the best tour leader ever He told... read more

Definitely worth the trip and experience. We did the day tour and the Dungeon of Horror. Scariest... read more

Awesome Tour

My husband and I decided to take a road trip to WV. We visited the WVP for a daytime tour. Becky was our tour guide. She was great. She was extremely knowledgeable. We both were very pleased and would love to come back for a night tour or even the escape room. We would highly recommend this tour.

Our guided tour through the prison was great. Lee was an awesome guide who answered any and all questions. The tour was so interesting and the history of the prison is very fascinating.

This was my third time visiting the prison and by far the best tour yet. We had a young man named Lee who was knowledgeable and able to ask any questions posed as well as able relate his own experiences as a Correctional Officer. The prison itself is a very interesting experience from the gothic architecture, WV history, insight on the corrections system and even to the inmate art work. I cannot wait for the day when the warden’s residence is open to the public. Also if they opened up a snack bar in the gift shop they could make a mint as we were starved after the tour and didn’t know of anywhere immediately nearby to go. Overall a great experience! Highly recommended!

I am still skeptical of the paranormal but had a blast at the prison. It is definitely spooky. The day time tour and information is amazing and being able to walk the halls alone at night is well worth the trip. The prisoner artwork on the walls is very interesting. The day time tour is great for children and teenagers, especially to deter future bad behavior.

Just finished up a trip to the penitentiary! You have to see and experience it for yourselves The history you learn during the tour is priceless. Our tour guide was very educated in the history of the old prison. 10 out of 10!!

My family had a fantastic time on the overnight visit. The night definitely did not disappoint our group. Our tour guide was wonderful. We had quite a few unexplainable things happen during the night. We even heard some “church like” music for about 5-10 seconds at 3:30am in the infirmary area….Who knows?? It was a great visit.

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The Assumption Belfry and Ivan the Great Bell Tower

View from a corner of Assumption Cathedral on the architectural ensemble of the Assumption Belfry (at the left) and Ivan the Great Bell Tower (at the right) built in the Moscow Kremlin in 16th century. The tower’s name implies that it had once housed St. John’s Church, and that it used to be the tallest building in Moscow (height with cross is about 80 m). For many decades the bell tower was also the main watchtower in the Kremlin, and later also a fire tower. Petrok Maliy, the Italian architect who built the Kitai-Gorod wall in Moscow, started the construction of the church of the Resurrection, later renamed Church of the Nativity, next to the Ivan the Great Tower in 1532. Decades later was converted to a four-tier belfry for large bells, known today as the Assumption Belfry after its main 64-ton bell placed in the middle of the fourth tier. The Assumption bell tolled only on great holidays and to announce events of exceptional significance.

Photo #043 taken on June 29, 2016 during a tour of Moscow Kremlin with my dear client from Lebanon, Jacques Saade.

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My name's Arthur Lookyanov, I'm a private tour guide, personal driver and photographer in Moscow, Russia. I work in my business and run my website Moscow-Driver.com from 2002. Read more about me and my services , check out testimonials of my former business and travel clients from all over the World, hit me up on Twitter or other social websites. I hope that you will like my photos as well.

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PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR

Quick Details

• Users Ages: 18+ y/o
• Hour Glass Duration: 4 hours

Photography License Agreement

Introducing West Virginia Penitentiary’s Photography Tour!

This is not a guided tour; you can roam at your own pace and leisure. The gate is opened approximately 15 minutes prior to the tour time for check-in. Each photographer is responsible for their own equipment and is required to sign a waiver/agreement upon check-in.

You do not have to be a professional photographer to take advantage of this opportunity. We welcome professionals, amateurs, artists, painters, and everyone in between!

During your photography tour, you are allowed access to areas that are not accessible to the public on a regular basis and the basic tour route. The areas that are available during a photography tour are as follows:

• The Sugar Shack
• The Boiler Room
• The Infirmary
• The Psych Ward
• North and South recreation yards
• North Hall and New Wall (cell blocks)
• Kitchen and cafeteria
• You will NOT have access to any part of the Administration Building (including the former warden’s quarters), the Warden’s Residence, the guard towers, the haunted house, or any area considered to be Department of Corrections property.

In June, July, and August, you will be sharing the facility with tour groups. We ask that you refrain from blocking doors and pathways, and keep the floor clear of equipment that may cause a hazard to guests.

You may bring drinks and snacks. NO ALCOHOL. Please pick up and dispose of your mess.

There is no heat or air conditioning throughout our facility. The building will be extremely HOT in the summer and extremely COLD in the winter. Please dress according to the weather! We will NOT postpone due to rain.

Tickets are non-refundable and MUST be purchased online. Online ticket sales end at 10:00 p.m. EST the evening before a scheduled photography tour to notify staff to be on hand.

IMPORTANT: Please print and complete the Photography License Agreement , and bring it with you along with your ticket. You will not be permitted to attend a photography tour without a signed agreement.

• Chevron down General Guidelines
• Parts of your tour may intertwine with regularly scheduled day tours. We ask that you do NOT block tour routes, and be respectful to others.
• We prefer that models and props are NOT used.
• We will not tolerate semi-nudity, nudity, or any other sexually explicit material.
• NEVER remove chains, locks, or blockades! If an area is not opened, it is deemed not safe for the general public, and access is STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
• It is against the law in our county to smoke inside the building or 15 feet from an entrance. Please use a designated smoking area.
• Please do NOT deface our facility in ANY WAY. West Virginia Penitentiary is a historical landmark and an important part of West Virginia History. You will be held liable for any damages you create.
• Special pricing for filming

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