State Prison 1833 - Charleston, Boston Mass.

State prison, 1833. Lynde's Point, on which the State Prison in Charlestown was later erected, was sold by Captain McNeil in November 1800 to the state commissioners appointed by the legislature. It contained only 4 1/2 acres but was selected for its healthfulness and the superior facilities it afforded for the transportation of stone for convict labor. Only one bridge barred the way to the ocean, as Prison Point Bridge was not built until 1809, and all carriage communication with Cambridge was by way of Charlestown neck. "The Charlestown State Prison has been for many years the oldest prison building in the country."
Courtesy of Boston Public Library