Oldest Section of Portsmouth Naval Prison on Seavey Island, Maine
The captains of The Heritage regale passengers with tall and short tales of anything and everything of historic value along the Piscataqua River and the Atlantic coastline. One of their favorite stories involves the horrors the prisoners suffered in the prison. According to local lore, the prison was built of concrete mixed with the Piscataqua's brackish water—a disastrous experiment that led to almost constant seepage into the bottom-most cells. The poorly heated prison combined with the dampness led to thousands of prisoner deaths from exposure. When the foundation deteriorated further, those cells flooded and thousands more prisoners drowned.
According to NAVSEA, the US Navy's Naval Sea Systems Command, "at its construction {completed in 1908}, the prison was considered the largest poured concrete building in the world. Over the years the Prison had an illustrious career and was known for its progressive and innovative efforts in the rehabilitation of naval personnel."
When I decided to share this for experiment, I had no idea that the prison was truly an experiment—not for its ill-conceived concrete—rather for its rehabilitative focus. Noted Sing-Sing prison warden and reformer, Lt. Thomas Mott Osborne, assumed command of the prison in 1914. His experiment in humanitarian reform led to the release and return to active duty of thousands of rehabilitated prisoners. Complaints that these rapscallions continued to be trouble makers led to a full-scale investigation of the prison. Amid the scandal of reported mismanagement and rampant homosexuality {gasp} at the prison, Osborne quietly retired. Reform measures were quickly replaced by the more harsh punitive systems that had been in place before Osborne.
Local lore contradicts the official statements of the US Navy.
Kinda leaves me wondering whose version is closer to the truth.
Does anyone else hear black helicopters overhead?
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Tomorrow's prompt is: Power. I'm so cranked up for this one, I can barely breathe.
It is an aged beauty
ReplyDeleteThe photo itself is sublime, though I do worry about those black helicopters and if you do find yourself sprinting away from them I'd advise against hiding in the prison.
ReplyDeleteIntriguing stuff. Looking forward to your power photo too.
ReplyDeletehehe when dealing with the government i can tell you who not to believe...smiles....cool pic though...
ReplyDeletesuch a lovely photo. i wonder how it feels like to live in something like that , creepy perhaps but really awesome. thanks for the visit and comment , hope you can also join us at green monday meme @mygreenlivingideas.com
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful building but whichever story about it is true, it's got a haunted past.
ReplyDeleteYou should call the show, "Ghost Hunters." My husband watches it all the time, and it's absurd but this structure would make for some great television.
ReplyDeleteLove that your experiment was in truth an experiment!
ReplyDelete=)
Great photo! So, all of those "rehabilitated" inmates were set loose and probably stuck around and now the area is crawling with their offspring...
ReplyDeleteCheryl, that is an awesome photo and a very interesting tale. I think the Navy version is the correct one. Would the Military lie to us? I don't think so.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great photo. The building, caught in decomposition, is fascinating. As was your story. Who needs the death penalty in Maine? Just house the killers on the lower level. That was some experiment!
ReplyDeletefabulous photo ... fabulous info ... and yes i hear those helicopters ...
ReplyDelete"When I decided to share this for experiment, I had no idea that the prison was truly an experiment"
ReplyDeleteTOTALLY-SUPER-COOL!
This is a beautiful photo and a very interesting story. What a great take on the theme. :)
ReplyDeleteOver here, anything declared by the government and passed off as truth tends to be known as 'spin'. Locals pwn spin!
ReplyDeleteShe is that.
ReplyDeleteTo get there, I'd have to swim across the river with the 2nd strongest current in the country. I'm thinking I might just head to the nearest bakery. They'll never think to look for me there.
ReplyDeleteThanks Liza. Hope you like it.
ReplyDeleteLove the photo - love the history behind it (altho the people involved probably didn't appreciate it much at the time).
ReplyDeleteYep, me too.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
ReplyDeleteI was trying to verify the stories I'd been hearing for years and stumbled on quite a few interesting articles about the prison. None of them was very informative about conditions but I thought the US Navy's NAVSEA site was the funniest since the prison was only rehabilitative for a couple of years.
ReplyDelete*Looking nervously overhead* I'm sure the Navy would never lie. Ever.
ReplyDeleteLove this!
They were let loose and returned to active duty. From what I read, most of them were deserters in the first place. I love the twisted logic of trying to rehabilitate men whose only crime was not wanting to serve only to return them to duty where they once again caused trouble. Bless the military for thinking that was a good idea.
ReplyDeleteNah, not in a million years. In fact, I believe we elect and hire the most honest among us to serve This Great Country of Ours.
ReplyDeleteThanks John. Poor souls. The really bad dudes were sent to Leavenworth. This prison was for the more minor infractions. Early on, the majority of prisoners were there because they'd deserted the Navy. The powers that be were brilliant to rehabilitate them and return them to active duty. I was shocked that they were surprised that those who were sent back caused even more trouble. Who'd a thunk?
ReplyDeleteWhee! Thank goodness someone else does!
ReplyDeleteI've always thought it was ironic that anyone would think it a good idea to mix salt-water with concrete then build a structure on an island in the middle of salt water. I was fact-checking about the concrete and stumbled upon the real experiment. Gawd damn! I love being anal-retentive.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ziva. This one was fun (and I just had to post a photo of one of my favorite buildings ~ no time on day 1). It was a two-fer thing for me.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to hear your governmental officials spin. Ours whirl so fast, they're hard to look at. Everything is about spin. It's hard to make informed decisions about voting when it's all just a blur of cow dung.
ReplyDelete:)
ReplyDeleteAnother paranoid! Whee! I'm really not alone!
ReplyDeleteThank you. There's so much more but I was desperately trying to keep it lean.
ReplyDeleteHow AMAZING. I love stories of things from time gone by. That is creepy, interesting and the picture is really well done. And the helicopters? Call if you need help - we have your back!
ReplyDeleteSemper fi, Cheryl! Now that's what I'm talking about! Still, it is a historic place and very well photographed and that's what counts!
ReplyDeleteI love this story and photo. I hear the helicopters also. I'm going to - in fact, change my name now after commenting.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great photograph, but I'd rather not think about prison. Bad memories, and all that. And I was framed, I swear. *shudder*
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ReplyDeleteGorgeous photo! When I visited Portsmouth I was fascinated by "The Castle" as well! One bit of trivia I loved (we read it in a tiny museum that was in Prescott Park) was that Humphrey Bogart was supposedly a guard there whilst in the Navy. The story went that he was helping to transport a prisoner out to the Castle and was struck in the face by said prisoner's manacled wrists. It resulted in a split/cleft palate that was responsible for his rather distinctive way of speaking. Fact or Fiction? Not sure, but the gentleman who ran the museum was convinced! :o)
ReplyDeleteOh wow. The ghosts in that building. What an evocative picture. I wonder if you can tour inside there?
ReplyDeleteRiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!
ReplyDeleteQuick thinking Isabel. Did you actually think my name is really Cheryl?
ReplyDeleteIt's a fact. I found that tidbit while doing my due-diligence about the prison. Nice to hear that you enjoyed your visit to our little city. From my back deck, I can see the Castle, part of the older section, and most of the newest, less ornate 1945 addition.
ReplyDeleteI should probably find out if visitors can get to the island just to wander. I know the building is completely locked up tight as it slowly decomposes. It's such a gorgeous building and there have been plans to rehab it but the more time that passes, the less there is to work with. It was closed in 1974 & completely neglected ever since.
ReplyDeleteEven in broad daylight, this building looks daunting! A horror film set in this place would not be surprising; but then again it looks like the reality was pretty bad! I love how the photo's bright and revealing tone contrasts with the dark "secrets" of its past!
ReplyDeleteIt was due to be renovated when, in 1999, the developed suddenly died. It's slowly decomposing. It's really quite gorgeous especially at sunset when the light reflects off the windows.
ReplyDeletefabulous photo ... fabulous info ... and yes i hear those helicopters ...
ReplyDelete