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Hello. Welcome to the debut episode of Keystone State of Mind. I'm Steph, your host and your tour guide to the dark side of Pennsylvania. Thank you so much for joining me. Happy 2020 everybody. A brand new year, new goals and ambitions and a brand new podcast for you to listen to before I get started On today's story, I just want to tell you a little about myself and the show and what you can expect from chaos. So I'm in the future. Like I said, my name stuff. I live in a little town that you've never heard of in northern Pennsylvania, about 10 miles from the New York border, and I actually grew up just over the border and New York State. But I've always traveled around Pennsylvania, and I really like it here. It's a super great place to live, and the town I live in is really small, like less than 300 people small. We have let a cows we have a lot of farms and a lot of corn and beautiful rolling hills and little creeks, and this is just my kind of place. But as I've traveled around the Keystone state. I have found that there's a lot more to P a history than the Gettysburg Address and Liberty Bell. This obscure little known history is what I want to share with you. That's what Keystone state of mind is all about. The smaller events that shaped the state and its people, the things we didn't learn in history, class and, in many cases, the darker side of the Keystone State. So that's just a little overview of the show and what's coming up on K. S. O. M. Now I'm just about to get into the story, But first I have to get in a keystone state of mind. As I talk to you today, I'm gonna be enjoying an ice cold can of Keystone Light, my favorite libation and my liquid confidence. As I record this first episode, it's a little a little intimidating. Actually, you wouldn't think it was so intimidating to just talk to yourself in a room. But it kind of is, and this is my third try, or so I'm trying to record this first episode. Okay, so let's get into it today. We're talking about Eastern State Penitentiary. This was a prison in Philadelphia that operated from 18 29 to 1970. But to tell you its story, we have to go back a bit further, back to 17 87 in the home of a guy you may have heard of Benjamin Franklin. It was a meeting to create a coalition to assess the criminal justice system in the brand new United States of America. This meeting was headed up by Dr Benjamin Rush. He could really be an episode on himself. Ben Rush was one of our nation's founding fathers that you've probably never heard of. He signed the Declaration of Independence and was a very influential figure in Pennsylvania Post Revolution. So Ben Rosh gets with his bro, Ben Franklin and the Philadelphia Society for alleviating the miseries of public prisons was born. Do you think they could have fit a few more words in that title? Just to keep things simple? I will refer to it as the society for the rest of the show. I can't keep saying that long ass name. In the years after the American Revolution, the guys in charge, we're trying to set an example for the world, after all, a truly democratic government hadn't been used by anyone since ancient Greece. They had succeeded in defeating the most powerful force in the world at that time, And the new American government wanted to prove to everyone else that all men air quotes, they're all men, had certain unalienable rights. And for the society this included prisoners. So let's talk about the miseries prisoners were facing that the society wanted to alleviate. First of all, incarceration as a punishment wasn't really a thing at this time. It was used around the world a little bit, but mainly criminals faced public humiliation, corporal punishment or execution. I fell into a bit of a wormhole here, trying to figure out what the's punishments were. Specifically, I found an old law journal from Pennsylvania that laid out some crimes and punishments. I was surprised to find that P. A was already a bit more progressive than the other colonies. From its inception, a favorite penalty for drunkenness was the perpetrator would have to wear a sign that said drunkard. Fittingly, if the offense was repeated, the perpetrator would eventually be branded with a D on their forehead. The stacks were quite popular as well. You know, what I mean hands and had locked in a wooden vice for a specified period of time. Theft could get your sentence to a hefty fine or a few lashes with the whip if you couldn't pay. But my favorite crime that it came across was fornication. The punishment was either marriage or death for the man. Of course, you hooked up with that fair maiden, and now you either marry her or face the gallows. I had to chuckle a bit at this because most men that I know would be dead if we lived in Colonial Pennsylvania. So what? We're Prisons Lake. Well, like I said, there weren't very many of what we would call prisons today. There were jails where criminals would wait for their sentence to be carried out, and these places were deplorable. And Pennsylvania jails were overcrowded rooms with a bucket to shit in any and all criminals were thrown together. Murderers with fornicators and drunkards with horse thieves, you get the just. Typhus was so common among criminals at this time it became known as jail fever, Typhus as an infectious disease that comes with vomiting, diarrhea and high fevers. Can you imagine being stuck in a single cell with a bunch of guys going through this ship. I bet it smelled really pleasant, and I had to do a little bit of research because at first I thought Tiefest was the same as typhoid, like typhoid fever. But it's not. They're very similar. But typhus is different than typhoid fever. Not really important, but just to clear that up. So now that we know what the society was working with, what was been Russia solution, well, he really wanted criminals to be able to be redeemed. And how did they do that? Well, complete solitude. The society believed that men could be redeemed. They could attain true penitence. Given the right environment, penitence means true remorse for one's misdeeds. The society you wanted to give criminals away to reconnect with God and truly reflect on their crimes. This was a revolutionary idea. The penitentiary. And this is actually the foundation for this new word. Adama logically speaking, the society thought this was a great plan, but it took over 30 years to sell the Commonwealth on the idea. Eventually the guys in charge got on board. Now they had to build the penitentiary. Well, what's the best way to get a bunch of architects to submit plans for a new building? Hold a gondola? I haven't been able to find where this contest was advertised or how many people entered. But I do know that a man named John Havel in one and he was awarded $100 which is almost $2300 in today's money. Um, do got gypped. I certainly hope he actually got paid and top of that prize money. Construction on the penitentiary began in 18 16 and took 13 years to complete. At this time, Eastern State was the largest and most expensive public structure in the US It cost $770,000 to build. In today's money, that equals about 21.3 million. Have Elin's architectural plan really lined up with the society's vision? The outside of the building resembled a medieval castle, purposely foreboding and frightening to look at. Send a message to Philadelphians as to say you do not want end up in here. The inside of the present resembled a bicycle wheel. In the center was the surveillance rotunda, and the seven cell blacks radiated out in long corridors with 30 foot vaulted ceilings. The 250 private cells had central he running water and flexible toilets. This was quite impressive scenes how the White House didn't have these amenities. The President at this time, Andrew Jackson, was probably like, Are you fucking getting me these dick bags? Fornicators! Horse thieves have all the school sha and I'm here using an outhouse. Real fucking cool. How's Andrew Jackson? I would have been calling. Have Elin to come down and take care of the White House. For me, every prisoner had a 10 by 10 cell with a skylight and a private outdoor exercise yard attached. These yards were protected by a 10 foot stone wall. Silence was expected at all times. Neighbouring inmates were not allowed Teoh exercise in their yards the same time for fear that they could yell through the walls or communicate in some way. The guards and staff were fell on the bottom of their shoes so they didn't make noise on the floor. The meal cards were forbidden to be squeaky. I imagine the guards could probably speak in the surveillance rotunda as long as no prisoners could hear them. This in four silence was very delivery. How could a criminal find her pennants with all that noise? The prisoners were also forbidden from seeing each other or anyone really or any part of the penitentiary. Family visits were not permitted. Meals were slid through a slot in the door in if a prisoner had to leave his cell, he was fitted with a black hood. The hood thing was to ensure that no inmate knew the surroundings well enough to escape. Prison food seemed to be pretty good. Three hearty meals a day, boneless beef or pork soup and unlimited potatoes as a total carb. A holic. I'm down with unlimited potatoes, but that's just me. Take a second. Imagine yourself as a prisoner of Eastern State. Yeah, you have running water and all. You can eat potatoes, but you never get to speak or hear a sound. Maybe I'm like a mouse might run around or hear crow cawing outside, But really, could you handle it? Complete silence. The only escape from your own thoughts is a Christian Bible. No visitors, no letters from your family. Just you, in your thoughts. How long could you survive like that. And what choice do you have if you can? Well, there were summary precautions if you couldn't keep your mouth shut. One of these punishments was called the Iron Gag. This apparatus was made of iron, obviously held your mouth open and held your tongue in its grips. But that wasn't the worst part. So imagine you're handcuffed behind your back, but their chains from your handcuffs that led to the iron gag in your mouth. If you relax your arms, the pressure most, your tongue, your teeth and your lips a little counterintuitive for an institution that was supposed to be alleviating the suffering of prisoners. But this was a technique that was used in Eastern State Penitentiary, and that wasn't all. There was a device called The Mad Chair You've ever seen those prison shows that portray guys tied up in wheelchairs. That's what I imagine this was like. Except they pulled the strap so tight that it resulted in loss of circulation, the reports of amputations and even death resulting from the mad chair. There were also reports of guards dousing inmates in water and then hang them outside in freezing temperatures. Threes reports are anecdotal. Of course, Eastern State was supposed to be an example for the world. Not everyone agreed with society's philosophy. Eastern State Penitentiary was a destination for influential people of the bid. 19th century people have no toward the grounds and saw firsthand the successes and failures of the penitentiary. One of the most outspoken critics of Eastern state was famed novelist Charles Dickens. He visited the prison in 18 42 and this is what he had to say. Quote in its intention. I am well convinced that it is kind, humane and meant for re formacion. But I am persuaded that those who designed the system of prison discipline and those benevolent gentlemen who carry it into execution do not know what they're doing. I hold this slow and daily tampering with the mysteries of the brain to be immeasurably worse than any torture of the body. However, there were supporters. A report submitted to the French government in 18 31 said quote thrown into solitude, prisoner reflex placed alone and view of his crime, he learns to hate it. And if his soul be not yet, Sir faded with crime and thus have lost all taste for anything better. It is in his solitude where remorse will come to assail him. I actually had no idea worser fate Matt, so I had to look it up. It means to cause a person to desire no more of something because they have had enough of it. So basically it's like, OK, if the prisoner hasn't had enough of crime yet, they will, once they have nothing better to think about than their crimes in line with the times. Masturbation was strictly prohibited in Eastern State, but really it was pretty much prohibited everywhere. Masturbation was considered self abuse and punishable by the mad chair in the penitentiary. One notable aspect about the prison was that women were held there. Also, there were actually two babies born there. The solitary system Onley lasted about 40 years. By the 18 seventies, the guys in charge were beginning to admit that the system didn't work. People were realizing that solitude was very damaging to the mental health of most of the prisoners. The guards were increasingly abusive, and in 18 77 the penitentiary underwent an overhaul. Four new cell blacks were built and the cells began to hold more than one inmate to accommodate a larger prison population. Communication was now allowed in 1905 A factory was built that produced furniture. I think it was furniture. I couldn't really find a definitive source for this. But as far as I can tell, they made furniture. By 1912 Eastern State had an intra penitentiary baseball league and a prisoner run newspaper called The Umpire that published its stats and scores. In 1923 female inmates were no longer able to reside here and removed to nearby Muncie Prison, which is still in existence. It's a woman's prison in Muncie, Pennsylvania. In 1929 the administration produced a silent film to celebrate the prison centennial, and that film highlighted all the new additions and amenities. In 1956 a death row was added to the complex, and this was the last of the major renovations. The Commonwealth closed the facility for good in 1970 141 years after the first prisoner was admitted. So let's talk about some more notable prisoners that these walls held. The first inmate through the door was Charles Williams, convicted of burglary and sentenced to two years, the youngest inmate was a 12 year old boy convicted of arson. I wasn't able to find the length of his sentence free to. Frost was the last woman to leave Eastern State. She was sentenced to 20 years for murdering her husband by poison. She headed to Muncie women's Prison in 1923. The most famous inmate was Al Capone Scarface himself. He entered Eastern State in May of 1929. Many Capone historians speculate that this might have been purposeful on Capone's part. This was just three months after the ST Valentine's Day massacre in Chicago that was supposedly ordered by Scarface. Maybe he needed a quiet place to hang out. And what the Heat died down in the Windy City phone spent seven months in Eastern State on a weapons charge. He lived quite lavishly while he was there. His cell was furnished with expensive raw eggs, fine paintings and even a radio. My favor inmate that I came across his name was Pep. The dog inmate number C 2559 The black lab was convicted of killing the governor's cat. I assume this was either a publicity stunt or a legend that land lasted the test of time. But in the official raster Peps inmate number does not appear. If there was dogs in prison and probably a better place. So what's up with Eastern State Penitentiary now? In 1980 the city of Philadelphia purchased the property with the intent to develop it into a housing. Some sentimental Philadelphians objected to this and created the Eastern State Penitentiary Task Force. They successfully appealed to Mayor Wilson Goode to stop redevelopment and protect the site as a historic landmark. In 1994 the prison opened as a museum of sorts. The public is welcome with self guided audio tours, and these tours are needed. Narrated by Steve Bushemi Total Equal. This macabre museum is thought to be one of the most haunted sites in America. Buzzfeed on solved it agree episode on site, and that show was actually one of my sources. If you want to learn more about the amazing piece of history, the best resource I found was eastern ST dot org's. This was my primary source and has lots of history and events that are going on at the museum. One event that they do every year is a prison food dinner of sorts were they serve the Nutra loaf. That's kind of like a of punishment to prisoners. When they misbehave, they get this Nutra Loaf crap that everyone hates, So they kind of try to be good so they can have actual food. But I did see that on on the calendar for this spring at Eastern State. So Eastern State Penitentiary had a huge impact on prison reform and left us with a new word. I love Entomology. I'm so glad that this important landmark still exists and we can continue to uncover its secrets. Okay, there it is. First episode of Keystone State of Mind in the books. Thank you for listening. Please tell me what you think. Reach out on social media. Just search Kisum state of mind on Facebook, instagram and Twitter. Or you can email me at Keystone State of Mind the pod at gmail dot com. And I even have ah, Snapchat. It's Keystone. Underscore the pod. The links will be in the episode description I want to hear from you. Tell me your he stone state stories coming. Tell me your keystone light stories. I just want everyone to reach out and let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Subscribe to the show on whatever patch op you listen to and steak. He stoned my friends.