America's First Prison

What is it about?

Before Walnut Street Jail was a time before prisons. Before prisons, convicts were punished with death or painful corporal punishments (whipping, branding, disfigurement). Colonial jails were not places of punishment, but holding tanks for witnesses waiting to testify, accused people awaiting their trials, and condemned people awaiting execution, among other inmates. Walnut Street Jail, renovated in 1790 Philadelphia, was America's first step away from colonial practices and the first step towards using prison as the main punishment for those found guilty of serious offenses. This encyclopedia entry describes the background and features of this important prison.

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