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| Leavenworth and the word "prison" have been
synonymous through the power of the silver screen throughout the years.
Leavenworth, Lansing and Fort Leavenworth have four prisons located in
the area. None of these facilities allow public tours. |
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| By a special act of Congress, the reservation
for the U.S. Penitentiary was deeded by the War Department to the Justice
Department in 1897 to build the United States Federal penitentiary (USP)
in Leavenworth, Kansas. The decision was made, at least in part, based
on the labor available from the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Ft. Leavenworth.
They, in fact, were used for the first phase of construction and were
the first prisoners to be incarcerated in 1903. The first cell house opened
in 1906, and USP was completed in the mid-1920's. This prison is the largest
maximum security prison in the United States, housing approximately 2,000
inmates. |
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National Archives Central Plains Region 2312 E. Bannister Road Kansas City, MO 64131 816-926-6272 |
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| Kansas State Penitentiary, officially now named
the Lansing Correctional Facility (LCF), was constructed during the period
of 1863 to 1868, with delays due to the Civil War. |
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| Why it was located just to the south of Leavenworth
is unknown, however, population centers were all on the east side of the
state and the site is within sight of the State of Missouri, then a Confederate
state. We can assume distance and efficiency factors, in addition to the
proximity of troops at Fort Leavenworth in the event of trouble, had some
impact on the decision. This prison is the state's first maximum-security prison and currently houses over 2,000 inmates. At one time this was also the home of the state's women's prison. The medium-security prison in which the women were incarcerated is now a part of the Lansing Correctional Facility. Kansas State Historical Society State Archives 6425 SW 6th Street Topeka, KS 66615-1099 785-272-8681 |
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| For more information, visit the Lansing Correctional Facilities Web Site. | ||
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| The U.S. Disciplinary Barracks (USDB) has operated
at Fort Leavenworth since 1875. It is the only long-term maximum-security
correctional facility in the Department of Defense, incarcerating approximately
500 armed forces personnel convicted of serious offenses. A new correctional
facility opened October 2002. The new facility is a state-of-the-art design,
located at the site of the former USDB Farm. The USDB provides inmates
correctional treatment through rehabilitation programs and vocational
training. Through the vocational trade program, inmates support the Fort
Leavenworth community with a variety of services. |
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| This prison is the only privately run correctional facility to have a direct contract with the U.S. Government--in this case the U.S. Marshals Service. It is the only exclusively maximum-security institution run by a private company. The majority of those incarcerated in this facility are federal prisoners from the Midwest, awaiting trial, and once sentenced, awaiting transfer to a Bureau of Prisons institution. | ||
| More information, including: Facility Type, Total Beds, Customer Base, Accreditation, Community Activities, Visitation Schedule & Visitation Rules can be found HERE. | ||
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