Portsmouth Naval Prison, Military prison at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Maine.
Portsmouth Naval Prison is a former military detention facility on the grounds of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine, sitting along the Piscataqua River between Maine and New Hampshire. The reinforced concrete structure rises like a fortress above the waterway.
The detention center held more than 86,000 prisoners from the Navy and Marine Corps between 1908 and 1974. During World War I, it reached its highest occupancy with 2,295 inmates.
The compound served as a backdrop for storytelling and appeared in the 1973 film The Last Detail. Stephen King's novella The Body, later adapted as Stand By Me, also references the facility.
The location along the strong tidal currents of the Piscataqua River made escape attempts extremely difficult. Similar natural barriers existed at Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay.
Lieutenant Commander Thomas Mott Osborne worked undercover within the walls in 1917 to investigate conditions for prisoners. His findings later led to reforms in the detention operations.
GPS coordinates: 43.07610,-70.73110
Latest update: December 5, 2025 22:26
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