The Wall 1893

The oldest existing structure in the prison, this massive sandstone wall was built with convict labor and locally quarried stone. The wall replaced a twelve-foot-high wooden fence.

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The wall is twenty-four feet high, three feet thick at the top, and four and a half feet thick at the bottom.

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The wall extends four feet underground. No inmate was ever successful at tunneling under the wall, although quite a few tried.

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In 1911, the wall was extended north to make room for the 1912 Cell House, and the entrance was moved from the north wall to its present location in Tower 7.