THE PENITENTIARIES
The first State institution provided for by law was the Penitentiary at Fort Madison. By an act of the First Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Iowa, approved January 25, 1839, Governor Lucas was authorized to draw $20,000 which had been appropriated by Congress in July, 1838, for public buildings in Iowa. The directors, John Claypool and J. S. David were authorized to locate and direct the building of a penitentiary at Fort Madison. Ten acres of land were secured and Amos Ladd was appointed superintendent of the building. The cost was estimated at $55,000, for a building which was to hold one hundred and thirty-eight convicts. The main building and the warden’s house were completed in 1841. Additional buildings have been provided from time to time until the capacity of this Penitentiary has reached six hundred, supplying the requirements of the State for thirty-four years.
In 1872 the Fourteenth General Assembly passed an act providing for the building of an additional penitentiary at Anamosa, where fifteen acres of ground were donated by the citizens. A building four hundred thirty-four feet front by three hundred deep, containing four hundred ninety-six cells was erected. Workshops, warden’s house, dining room, kitchen and laundry were constructed from stone quarried near the buildings, largely by the labor of convicts.
COLLEGE FOR THE BLIND
The College for the Blind was established in April, 1853, at Iowa City. In July, 1862, it was removed to the new building erected at Vinton. A competent oculist was employed and a liberal system of education adopted for this class of the unfortunate, many of them becoming self-supporting after leaving the institution. In 1890 the Twenty-third General Assembly passed an act providing
