Identifier

NJS-PLC-00109

Place Type

Corrections Facility

Alternate Name

New Jersey Penitentiary House

New Jersey State Prison

Located In

Trenton

Description

The Penitentiary House in Trenton was erected in 1798 as the first state prison in New Jersey. It was the third correctional facility established in the United States (following the prisons in Philadelphia and New York). Today the historic Penitentiary House remains part of the New Jersey State Prison complex, an active men's correctional facility. The complex also includes the Fortress Penitentiary, which was completed in 1836, and the contemporary prison facility that was added in 1982.

This is not to be confused with the "Trenton gaol" which was part of the Hunterdon County Court House and functioned as the county jail since about 1721. The county jail was the facility where suspected runaways from slavery were typically held.

Locality

Trenton

County (Modern)

Mercer County

County (Historical)

Hunterdon County

State or Province

New Jersey

Country

United States of America

Related Place

Trenton gaol (jail), Trenton

Latitude

40.20618

Longitude

-74.75681

References

The Penitentiary House. Historical Marker Database. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=4523.

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey_State_Prison

Record Contributor

Jesse Bayker