The Putnamville Correctional Facility, located in
Warren Township, Putnam County, near
Greencastle, Indiana
Greencastle is a city in Greencastle Township, Putnam County, Indiana, United States, and the county seat of Putnam County. It was founded in 1821 by Ephraim Dukes on a land grant. He named the settlement for his hometown of Greencastle, Pennsylv ...
, is a medium-security
prison
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
for men located on in
Putnam County, Indiana
Putnam County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 37,963. The county seat is Greencastle. The county was named for Israel Putnam, a hero in the French and Indian War and a g ...
(the west-central part of the state, 3.8 miles West of U.S. Routes
231
Year 231 ( CCXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Claudius and Sallustus (or, less frequently, year 984 '' Ab urbe ...
and
40).
It currently houses approximately 2,400 inmates. Established in 1914, the prison was known for nearly 70 years as the Indiana State Farm. Inmates, nearly all of whom were serving time for minor offenses, worked in the prison's extensive farm and dairy operations.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s the facility was divided, with laundry and mess areas located near the complex of dormitories on a hill overlooking "the pit", the brickyard west of the dorms and far below. The residents were mainly of non-violent nature, serving no more than one year.
The Brick Yard (also known as Gladiator School) was a half-mile walk to the shovels, wheelbarrows and sledges. The dome-shaped brick kilns would be fired to bake the bricks, which were removed with propane-powered forklifts. Lift drivers did the dangerous job of manipulating the hot skids of brick out of the eight-foot arched doorway, bending over the steering wheel to avoid injury from the small entrance.
In the mid-1980s, The Farm was transformed into a medium-security prison for felons. Putnamville was again at the center of controversy in the late 1990s regarding allegations of racism, violence and drug trafficking by a group of employees known as "the Brotherhood". This controversy led to new state laws regarding prison oversight in Indiana.
References
External links
Indiana State entry
{{State prisons in Indiana
1915 establishments in Indiana
Buildings and structures in Putnam County, Indiana
Prisons in Indiana