The Arkansas State Penitentiary opened in 1841 in Little Rock and served as the state's main penal institution until it was moved in 1899 to allow for the construction of the State Capitol at the same site.

In 1836, Gov. James Conway called for "a prison to protect society from the ravages of crime and to correct criminal behavior." The Arkansas General Assembly appointed a committee in 1837 to make plans for a prison and on Dec. 13, 1838, passed an act to establish the facility. The state bought 92 acres of land at a site then about a mile and a half west of the Little Rock city limits. Stonemason James McVicar, whose 1840s home is part of the Historic Arkansas Museum, did the stonework.

The penitentiary was opened by June 1841 and contained 96 cells, four workshops, a corn crib, a blac

See Full Page