Missouri’s oldest prison lets you sit in the actual gas chamber: According to reports

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Inside 168 years of Missouri’s bloodiest walls

The Missouri State Penitentiary sits along the Missouri River in Jefferson City, and it ran for 168 years before the state closed it in 2004. That makes it the oldest continually operating prison west of the Mississippi. It was already about a century old when Alcatraz opened. Time magazine once called it the bloodiest 47 acres in America, and thousands of people walk through every year. One of the last stops on the tour puts you in a chair most visitors would rather not sit in. Wikimedia Commons/James D. Werner

Inmates quarried the stone and built the walls

The prison opened in 1836, the same year Texans fought the Battle of the Alamo. Locals nicknamed it The Walls for the tall stone barrier that boxed the place in, and inmates built that barrier themselves. They quarried the stone on site, then used it to raise cell blocks and shape much of what you can walk through today. That same prison labor built other buildings around Jefferson City. By the 1930s, more than 5,000 inmates lived inside these walls at once. Wikimedia Commons/Steve Mays

Climb the catwalks inside A-Hall

A-Hall, also known as Housing Unit 4, went up in 1868, and it’s the oldest building still standing on the grounds. Workers built it from limestone quarried on the property, the same stone used throughout the prison. Four stories of cells stack inside, connected by catwalks that crisscross overhead. You can climb through each level, step into individual cells, and take photos as you go. Watch your head at the doorways. The cell doors sit low, so you have to stoop to get through them. Shutterstock

Step down into the dungeon, or the Hole

Below A-Hall sits a basement of stone cells guides simply call the dungeon, or The Hole. These cells have no windows, and guards once kept the toughest inmates here in near-total darkness. Some of these cells date back to the 1800s, making them among the oldest spaces in the prison. One rusty door in the basement has stayed locked for decades, and nobody seems to know what’s behind it. The cold, dim space ranks as one of the most talked-about stops on the whole tour. Wikimedia Commons/Chris Friese

Sit in the chairs inside the gas chamber

The tour ends at the prison’s gas chamber, set inside a stark white building that stands apart from the rest of the grounds. Forty men and women died here over the years the prison operated.

You walk the same path prisoners once walked to reach the room, and once inside, guides let you sit in the actual chairs where executions took place. They cover the history in a factual way, without turning it into a spectacle, and answer whatever questions you have about the room. Wikimedia Commons

The cell where Sonny Liston learned to box

Charles Sonny Liston started serving time here in 1950 on a robbery charge, and prison is where his boxing career actually began. He trained in the prison gym under a priest who ran the boxing program, throwing punches years before anyone outside these walls knew his name. Liston walked out on parole in 1952, and his rise happened fast after that. By 1953, he held the National Heavyweight Championship. The tour stops at the cell tied to his time behind these walls. Shutterstock

James Earl Ray’s escape in a bread box

James Earl Ray arrived at the penitentiary in 1959 on a robbery conviction. In 1967, he escaped by hiding inside a large box the prison bakery used to ship bread. A year later, he assassinated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis. His cell remains a regular stop on the guided tour, and the story behind it still ranks as the most famous escape in the prison’s long history. Guides walk you through exactly how he pulled it off. Shutterstock

Stand in the wide open upper yard

After the tight cells and dark basements, the tour opens into the upper yard. This is where inmates once got their only real stretch of time outdoors. The stone wall built by prison labor still rings the entire property, cutting the yard off from the rest of the city. Walking through this open space after seeing the cramped cells gives you a real sense of the prison’s scale, and how small the world inside those walls must have felt for the people who lived there. Shutterstock

History tours, ghost tours, or photo tours

The Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau runs every tour at the penitentiary. The standard two-hour history tour covers the housing units, the dungeon, the upper yard, and the gas chamber in one trip. If you want more of an edge, ghost tours and longer overnight investigations dig into the paranormal side of the property. Photographers can book a tour built around taking their time to shoot the site. Whatever tour you pick, bring a flashlight. The darker corners of this place need one.

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The post Missouri’s oldest prison lets you sit in the actual gas chamber appeared first on When In Your State.

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What to know before you book a tour

Tour season runs from March through November, weather permitting. Reservations fill up fast, and the bureau recommends booking ahead, though walk-ins get in when space allows. Young children aren’t permitted on any of the tours. None of the buildings have heat, and some stay dim even during the day, so dress in layers no matter when you go. The ground inside is uneven and historic, so comfortable walking shoes matter here more than they would almost anywhere else. Wikimedia Commons/Anneecox

Visit the old warden’s house across the street

A small museum sits inside the Marmaduke House at 700 East Capitol Avenue, the former warden’s home across the street from the prison. Inmates built the house themselves in 1888, the same way they built so much of the prison itself. Inside, you’ll find prison artifacts, old photographs, and confiscated items inmates made themselves. A replica cell shows exactly what daily living conditions looked like for the men held here. Admission runs a small fee, or you get in free with a tour ticket. Shutterstock

Why the old pen tops Jefferson City’s sights

Few places let you walk through more than a century and a half of American history in a single afternoon. This site blends architecture, personal stories, and years of preservation work into one stop. Guides bring that history to life, and some of them worked at the prison themselves before it closed. Missouri State Penitentiary ranks as a top-rated landmark and the number one sight in Jefferson City. Fans of history, architecture, and the unusual all find something here. Wikimedia Commons/CosmiCataclysm

Plan your visit to the Missouri State Penitentiary

If you want to see all of this yourself, the Missouri State Penitentiary sits at 115 Lafayette Street in Jefferson City. The Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau runs tours through the official website, and the season runs March through November. The two-hour history tour starts around $30 per person, with pricier options for ghost tours and overnight investigations. Book ahead. Tours sell out, especially on weekends, and walk-in spots depend on what’s left that day. This article was created with AI assistance and human editing. Read more from this brand:

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The post Missouri’s oldest prison lets you sit in the actual gas chamber appeared first on When In Your State.