I don't get back to my hometown very often, but since I'm here and with everyone else in my party asleep at the hotel, I thought I would take a little time to myself to revisit some of the historical landmarks that give Alton, IL it's character. First up is the Illinois State Penitentiary. All that remains of this structure are the blocks forming one corner, but plaques and historical markers give a short history lesson.
The structure was build as the first state penitentiary in 1833, but closed in 1857. During the Civil War, it was reopened to house the growing number of Confederate prisoners of war. Unfortunately, there was an extremely high number of deaths at the prison due to outbreaks of rubella and smallpox. Of the 11,000 prisoners incarcerated here during the war, 1,534 died. The prison was closed once again at the end of the war in 1865 and later demolished, leaving only this section of wall to remember its dark history.
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