Alan Lomax - Negro Prison Songs From The Mississippi State Penitentiary

Operating from 1836 to 2004, the Missouri State Penitentiary was the oldest penal facility in operation West of the Mississippi River. The initial prison population was only 15 inmates. Housing unit 4 held prisoners until the day it closed in 2004. Thirty-nine prisoners were executed in the penitentiary's gas chamber. The Missouri State Penitentiary has been a bucket list location for me for many years. I still can't believe I was allowed to fly my drone through the cellblocks! It was incredibly