Lower Prison Complex: Prisoners at Work

The Lower Prison Building

Look back down the road and imagine a complex of wooden structures running from here to the Sallyport. These buildings formed the Lower Prison complex, constructed in 1867. Up to 150 men were held here in 150 small cells. The complex also had workshops for making hats and boots, a blacksmith shop, a school for military prisoners, and a mess hall.

Most soldiers detained here had committed crimes or broken army regulations. They were sentenced to hard labor and were only locked up at night. Some were retrained prior to returning to service, while others were punished before a dishonorable discharge. The latter wore a ball and chain around their ankles and broke rocks all day.

Dozens of Native Americans were also held in the Lower Prison. Some as "enemy combatants" like Kaetena, a Chiricahua Apache chief who rode with Geronimo. In 1895, the army locked 19 Hopi elders from Arizona in this prison. They had refused to send their children to government boarding schools. The Hopi men sawed logs and drove spikes as part of their sentence.