History of Louisiana State Penitentiary a.k.a. Angola
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The following statements on "The History of Louisiana State Penitentiary" have been made and approved by the Board Members of the Louisiana State Penitentiary Museum Foundation. All statements are from personal experience among citizens, guards, employees, and inmates in Angola in which interviews took place.
1835: This was the start of the Louisiana State Penitentiary where it was built on the corner of 6th and Laurel street in Baton Rouge, La and inmates were forced to sit in vermin infested jail cells.
1844: The Penitentiary and inmates were now under control of McHatton Pratt and his company. The Union Troops helped guard and keep in tact the Penitentiary during this time of the Civil War.
1869: The lease of the Penitentiary was given to the permission of a Confederate Major, Samuel James and his family for the following 31 years.
1880: Where does the name Angola come from? Samuel James decided to purchase an 8,000 acre plantation in West Feliciana Parish called Angola. The name Angola came from an area in Africa where the former slaves came from. On this plantation, James decided to keep some inmates at what used to be the Old Slave Quarters which later became Camp A. Due to the Penitentiary being surrounded by the Mississippi river, inmates were in charge of working on levee construction for that river.
1894: Major James died leaving his son with all of the responsibility. Throughout the 90's, reform about the Penitentiary became a primary problem. People were shocked by newspaper accounts of the brutality being inflicted among inmates and how much disrespect the guards had towards them.
1901: A major change occurred resulting with the State of Louisiana gaining back control over the Penitentiary after 55 years of the lease had already gone by.
1901: Corrections were accessed by the Board of Control. The Board of Control purchased 8,000 more acres where they built new camps and hired many new security officers. Brutality towards inmates had decreased and the death rate was reduced by ~72%.
1903-1912: Floods from the Mississippi ruined the crops and put Angola in a tragic economic situation.
1916: The legislature abolished the Board of Control and appointed Henry L. Fuqua as General Maganer of the Penitentiary. Rather than keeping the already hired security guards, Henry decided to select inmate trusty guards.
1918: The old Penitentiary in Baton Rouge was sold to the city and torn down.
1922: Another flood destroyed Angola's crops along with adjoining fields connected to Angola. Because of the frequent flooding, the owners wanted to sell the plantation, but instead they decided to buy more acres; resulting in 18,000 total.
1952: Thirty one inmates cut their Achilles tendon as protest to the hard work and brutality they were receiving. After hearing about this protest, Judge Kennon established a campaign for the need to clean up Angola.
1955: The Main Prison Complex was completed and convict stripes were officially gone. Women inmates were also moved to a new camp on Angola.
1961: Angola became known as "The Bloodiest Prison in the South" due to the number of inmate assaults and abuse.
1972: Governor Edwards appointed Elayn Hunt as Director of Corrections. Elayn Hunt began with a few major changes to the Penitentiary including; major reform, and accepting Judge West's court order to improve Angola's prison. It wasn't long before Hunt eliminated the "Trusty Guard System," and quadrupled the number of security guards.
1976: Elayn Hunt passed away and the new authority was given to C. Paul Phelps. Phelps created four new camps and major renovations were completed. For the first time, rehabilitative efforts were made and medical care was improved.
1994: Angola achieved initial accreditation from the American Correctional Association (ACA) and still today maintains the accreditation.
Present Day: The Louisiana State Penitentiary is ran under Secretary Stalder and Angola's current Warden Burl Cain. Both have continued the pursuit of physical plant improvements and have renovated Cell blocks A and B which are located at the Main Prison. Jaguar Cell block at Camp C and Raven Cell block at Camp D have also been renovated. New additions at the Main Prison include the multi-purpose arena, Camp D Chapel, and the Judge Henry A. Politz Education Building.
Louisiana Citizens have the opportunity of visiting Angola's past by stopping by the Angola Museum.
Angola Museum: Established in 1998 by Warden Cain and was dedicated to preserving Angola's history. The museum has an official tourist site in the parish and serves as a resource for information on the state's correctional system.
1835: This was the start of the Louisiana State Penitentiary where it was built on the corner of 6th and Laurel street in Baton Rouge, La and inmates were forced to sit in vermin infested jail cells.
1844: The Penitentiary and inmates were now under control of McHatton Pratt and his company. The Union Troops helped guard and keep in tact the Penitentiary during this time of the Civil War.
1869: The lease of the Penitentiary was given to the permission of a Confederate Major, Samuel James and his family for the following 31 years.
1880: Where does the name Angola come from? Samuel James decided to purchase an 8,000 acre plantation in West Feliciana Parish called Angola. The name Angola came from an area in Africa where the former slaves came from. On this plantation, James decided to keep some inmates at what used to be the Old Slave Quarters which later became Camp A. Due to the Penitentiary being surrounded by the Mississippi river, inmates were in charge of working on levee construction for that river.
1894: Major James died leaving his son with all of the responsibility. Throughout the 90's, reform about the Penitentiary became a primary problem. People were shocked by newspaper accounts of the brutality being inflicted among inmates and how much disrespect the guards had towards them.
1901: A major change occurred resulting with the State of Louisiana gaining back control over the Penitentiary after 55 years of the lease had already gone by.
1901: Corrections were accessed by the Board of Control. The Board of Control purchased 8,000 more acres where they built new camps and hired many new security officers. Brutality towards inmates had decreased and the death rate was reduced by ~72%.
1903-1912: Floods from the Mississippi ruined the crops and put Angola in a tragic economic situation.
1916: The legislature abolished the Board of Control and appointed Henry L. Fuqua as General Maganer of the Penitentiary. Rather than keeping the already hired security guards, Henry decided to select inmate trusty guards.
1918: The old Penitentiary in Baton Rouge was sold to the city and torn down.
1922: Another flood destroyed Angola's crops along with adjoining fields connected to Angola. Because of the frequent flooding, the owners wanted to sell the plantation, but instead they decided to buy more acres; resulting in 18,000 total.
1952: Thirty one inmates cut their Achilles tendon as protest to the hard work and brutality they were receiving. After hearing about this protest, Judge Kennon established a campaign for the need to clean up Angola.
1955: The Main Prison Complex was completed and convict stripes were officially gone. Women inmates were also moved to a new camp on Angola.
1961: Angola became known as "The Bloodiest Prison in the South" due to the number of inmate assaults and abuse.
1972: Governor Edwards appointed Elayn Hunt as Director of Corrections. Elayn Hunt began with a few major changes to the Penitentiary including; major reform, and accepting Judge West's court order to improve Angola's prison. It wasn't long before Hunt eliminated the "Trusty Guard System," and quadrupled the number of security guards.
1976: Elayn Hunt passed away and the new authority was given to C. Paul Phelps. Phelps created four new camps and major renovations were completed. For the first time, rehabilitative efforts were made and medical care was improved.
1994: Angola achieved initial accreditation from the American Correctional Association (ACA) and still today maintains the accreditation.
Present Day: The Louisiana State Penitentiary is ran under Secretary Stalder and Angola's current Warden Burl Cain. Both have continued the pursuit of physical plant improvements and have renovated Cell blocks A and B which are located at the Main Prison. Jaguar Cell block at Camp C and Raven Cell block at Camp D have also been renovated. New additions at the Main Prison include the multi-purpose arena, Camp D Chapel, and the Judge Henry A. Politz Education Building.
Louisiana Citizens have the opportunity of visiting Angola's past by stopping by the Angola Museum.
Angola Museum: Established in 1998 by Warden Cain and was dedicated to preserving Angola's history. The museum has an official tourist site in the parish and serves as a resource for information on the state's correctional system.
http://angolamuseum.org/?q=History
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Fun Facts:
Location: West Felicina Parish, La. The jail is surrounded by the Mississippi River on three sides.
Ambiance: A former plantation, this maximum-security prison known as "the farm," and there is still a working farm on the plantation.
Famous Guests: Folk and blues musician Lead Belly stayed there in 1991. Andrew Lee Jones, the last inmate to die in Louisiana's electric chair was executed there in 1991.
Activities: Angola is home to the country's only inmate operated radio station and there is also an inmate-published magazine. There are a variety of educational, vocational, and recreational programs on site. Plus every October, the prison hosts it's own rodeo.
Staff: Approximately 1,700 employees tend to the inmate population of ~5,100.
Ambiance: A former plantation, this maximum-security prison known as "the farm," and there is still a working farm on the plantation.
Famous Guests: Folk and blues musician Lead Belly stayed there in 1991. Andrew Lee Jones, the last inmate to die in Louisiana's electric chair was executed there in 1991.
Activities: Angola is home to the country's only inmate operated radio station and there is also an inmate-published magazine. There are a variety of educational, vocational, and recreational programs on site. Plus every October, the prison hosts it's own rodeo.
Staff: Approximately 1,700 employees tend to the inmate population of ~5,100.