Now Reading
Penitentiary exhibit to display artifacts of prison life

Penitentiary exhibit to display artifacts of prison life

The Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City has had a long and colorful history since it housed its first prisoner in 1836, when Andrew Jackson was president.

On May 15 the Missouri Department of Natural Resources will present an exhibit that includes images, oral accounts and artifacts representing the history of the Missouri State Penitentiary and the world of the inmates imprisoned there throughout its history.

The exhibit focuses on prison conditions, the daily life of inmates and how the Missouri State Penitentiary changed from 1836 to 2004, the year the population of 1,300 prison inmates transferred to a new facility east of Jefferson City.

Curated by Julie Kemper, curator of exhibits for the Missouri State Museum, the show will feature objects of everyday prison life; “shives” (homemade prison knives); guard uniforms; and artwork made by inmates, including paintings, intricately tooled leather wallets and elaborately carved canes that were once made by inmates for the guards and served as status symbols.
Notorious inmates at the prison include famous heavyweight boxing champion Sonny Liston, Great Depression-era gangster “Pretty Boy” Floyd, and James Earl Ray, who escaped from the Missouri State Penitentiary before assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.

The image-rich exhibit will feature close to 1,000 photographs illustrating some of the earliest industries that flourished within prison walls, including a saddletree factory and shoe factory. Visitors can check out a reproduction of a prison cell, with an original cell door.

The exhibit delves into several notable historical topics and practices, such as the imprisonment of abolitionists who helped slaves, the internment of female inmates and the period when all death row inmates were located at the Missouri State Penitentiary. v

The penitentiary exhibit runs May 15 to November 30, 2007 in the Elizabeth Rozier Gallery at 101 Jefferson Street in Jefferson City. For more information contact the Missouri State Museum office at (573) 751-2854.

What's Your Reaction?
Excited
0
Happy
0
Love
0
Not Sure
0
Silly
0

404 Portland St, Ste C | Columbia, MO 65201 | 573-499-1830
© 2023 COMO Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
Website Design by Columbia Marketing Group

Scroll To Top