This a jail cell at the Maine State Prison in Thomaston, Maine. This picture was taken in the 1920s. The prison was open for 178 years, from 1824 to 2002.
As you might have noticed from this image, the prison cells were very small. At the time, they were usually around four feet deep. They contained a bed, toilet, and sink.
This type of cell was an upgrade from when the prison opened its doors in 1824. Those cells were completely underground. The only opening was in the ceiling of the cell, which is how the prisoners entered. They were completely isolated from other people. These cells were later replaced because they were considered inhumane.
Source 2 - Document
Source 2 - Document
Austin MacCormick Lecture
1956 MacCormick Bowdoin Institute Lecture Part 3
Pages 13-14
Austin H. MacCormick Papers. SHSU Special Collections, Newton Gresham Library, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas.
This is part of a lecture, or public talk, given by Austin H. MacCormick (1893 – 1979) at Bowdoin College in 1956. In this speech, MacCormick talks about prison conditions and his career.
When Austin was a student at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, he studied prison reform. An author named Paul Douglas asked Austin if he would be interested in going undercover as a prisoner to help with a book about state prisons.
Austin agreed and then committed himself to the prison for a week. He came in as a forger (someone who makes fake copies) and was assigned cell 67. He spent his time at the prison building relationships with the prisoners.
His goal was to learn about the prisoners’ first-hand experiences and to see how the prison functioned from an inside perspective. Afterward, Austin went undercover in several other prisons throughout his career. He used the insider knowledge he gained to expose the truth about prison conditions and advocate for reform in prisons across America.
Source 3 - Artifact
Source 3 - Artifact
Grave Marker
1890
Maine State Museum 2010.30.8
This is a grave marker, which is used to mark where a body is buried in a cemetery. Joseph W. Kerr was an inmate at the Maine State Prison in Thomaston when he died. When prisoners died, they were buried in an area right outside the prison walls.
The grave markers in this cemetery were made of wood with painted lettering. When the Maine State Prison in Thomaston closed and moved to a new location, these wooden markers were replaced with stone markers that would last much longer.
Joseph, whose prison number was 2890, was from Washington County, Maine. He was convicted of breaking and entering (forcing his way into a building with the intent to commit crime). He entered the prison on January 9, 1888.
Joseph was just one year away from completing his four-year sentence at the time of his death. He died on September 1, 1890, from tuberculosis. Tuberculosis was a deadly lung disease also known as “consumption.” He was only 23 years old, and it was his first time in prison.
Joseph’s experience was not uncommon. The Maine State Prison at Thomaston was open for 178 years, from 1824 to 2002. Poor living conditions and overcrowding meant that inmates faced serious health risks. This was worse during pandemics, like the tuberculosis pandemic.
Source 4 - Image
Source 4 - Image
Baseball Game
Around 1924
Maine State Archives
This is a photograph of the inmates at Maine State Prison in Thomaston, taken around 1924. They are playing a game of baseball. Some people spend years or the rest of their lives in prison, and their lives continue with different types of education, culture, work, and recreation.
Prisons do allow recreation time for activities such as playing sports, but it is highly monitored and regulated. In some cases, removing recreational privileges is a way to punish prisoners for bad behavior.
Notice the environment of this baseball game and how it might be different from a game in the park.
LISTEN TO THE SOUND RECORDING
Click on or copy and paste the link below:http://mainesharedhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Life-in-Prison_Sound_Clip.mp3
Transcript (written copy of the sound recording):
[Bobby] “I did my first adult bid when I was 16, I’m 46 years old now. And so growing up in the system, I went through a lot time being angry, anti-system, anti anything authority. And that was how I thought and dealt with life for a long time. You get to a point where you have to–if you’re allowed to really see yourself—you get to a point where you have to stop making excus-es about the things that have happened in your life and own that you’re a participant. I just got to that point, and got tired of doing time, of not being able to experience being a parent, going to graduations, meeting new and interesting people, without having the setting of walls, you know.
I just got my Associate’s Degree from UMA at Augusta, I’m like eight classes away from my Bachelor’s. … my degree is going to be in liberal arts with a focus on Spanish. And so through learning about this bigger world and through actually getting some knowledge so I can actually have rooted opinions about things rather than just some basic prejudice or viewpoint that I can’t back up with anything substantial because I don’t know anything. “
[Interviewer] “I think before I started doing this series I thought that to be in prison, probably especially men’s prison, I was imaging that it was really a lot about portraying a tough image so no one would mess with you. I think that’s what I was imagining I would have to do if I was a prisoner here. Is that true in some parts of life here? “
[Bobby] “Oh absolutely, that’s true in the majority of it. That’s what we have to struggle against at all times. But it’s the same thing in life. And when you use the word portray I think about art, and I think of something that’s not really reality. You know? And that’s what people do, they put on these disguises, these coats that represent ‘I’m this, I’m that, don’t mess with me.’ But what it is, and I can say from first-hand knowledge, a lot of that comes from just our own fear, our own insecurities, you know. The best way to keep you from bullying me is if I act like an alpha male and I’m totally aggressive towards you, put you on your heels. And that’s how a lot of peo-ple act in a prison environment. But really the truth of the matter is, you break us down to our basic selves, we’re a bunch of scared people that really have struggled getting a grip on how to make it in the world out there, and how we’re making it in here while we have to be here.”
2014
SafeSpace Radio
Full interview available at https://safespaceradio.com/prisoners-and-hospice
At the time of this interview, Bobby Payzant was serving 23 years for assault at the Maine State Prison, a maximum-security correctional facility in Warren, Maine. He is a hospice volunteer and gives end-of-life care to his fellow inmates. Since this interview was recorded, Bobby completed his college degree in prison.
This is a clip from a 2014 radio interview. The woman’s voice that you hear is Dr. Anne Hallward, the radio program’s host.
In this clip, Bobby talks about the experience of being in prison and having to change his behavior to fit in. He also talks about working to get an education, and why it matters to him.
Freedom & Captivity Primary Source Sets developed in collaboration between the Maine State Archives, Maine State Library, and Maine State Museum.
