Old Joliet Prison: When Convicts Wore Stripes

Old Joliet Prison: When Convicts Wore Stripes

By Amy Kinzer Steidinger

In 1857, convicts began breaking rock to build the walls of the Illinois State penitentiary at Joliet, the prison that would later confine them. For a century and a half, thousands of men and women were sentenced to do time in this historic, castle-like fortress on Collins Street. Its bakery fed victims of the Great Chicago Fire, and its locks frustrated pickpockets from the world's fair.

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Book Information

Publisher: History Press
Publish Date: 11/09/2020
Pages: 160
ISBN-13: 9781467147361
ISBN-10: 1467147362
Language: English

Full Description

In 1857, convicts began breaking rock to build the walls of the Illinois State penitentiary at Joliet, the prison that would later confine them. For a century and a half, thousands of men and women were sentenced to do time in this historic, castle-like fortress on Collins Street. Its bakery fed victims of the Great Chicago Fire, and its locks frustrated pickpockets from the world's fair. Even newspaper-selling sensations like the Lambeth Poisoner, the Haymarket Anarchists, the Marcus Train Robbers and Fainting Bertha became numbers once they passed through the gates. Author Amy Steidinger recovers stories of lunatics and lawmen, counterfeiters and call girls, grave robbers and politicians.

About the Author

Amy has spent the last twenty-five years as a teacher and a genealogist. Many of her years teaching were spent working in juvenile justice. She went back to school and earned a master's degree in history from Illinois State University.

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