Burlington County Prison, Former penitentiary in Mount Holly Township, United States
Burlington County Prison is a three-story stone structure with individual cells, brick passageways, wooden floors, and a central section that extends into two rear wings. The building shows the design features typical of early American penitentiaries, with separate areas built to keep different functions apart.
Robert Mills, a student of Benjamin Latrobe, designed this penitentiary in 1810 as one of his early independent architecture projects in the United States. The building reflects the new thinking about how prisons should look and function that was emerging in America at that time.
The entrance motto 'Justice Which, While it Punishes, Would Endeavor to Reform the Offender' reveals the prison reform philosophy of the early 1800s. The words show that authorities believed in trying to change prisoners' behavior, not just locking them away.
The building is open to visitors Thursday through Sunday from 10 AM to 4 PM, with self-guided tours and audio guides available in English and Spanish. Plan to spend a few hours exploring the rooms and listening to the recorded information to understand the full story.
This penitentiary opened in 1811 and operated without stopping until 1965, making it the longest-running prison in the United States. Visitors today can experience this remarkable span of time in one place and see how conditions changed over more than 150 years.
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