History

Data@Museums

Elmore County Historical Society and Museum

The location of Alabama's first prison was chosen based
on population data. The prison was named for prison
reformer Julia Tutwiler in 1941.

Photo courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

Alabama governor Arthur Bagby authorized construction of the state's first prison in 1837. Population data played a role in determining the prison's location. Montgomery, the state capital, was a logical place for the prison, but census data revealed that the population of Wetumpka, AL, was nearly one-third larger than that of the state capital.

Governor Bagby placed the prison's cornerstone at the Wetumpka site along the Coosa River in October 1839. The first prisoners occupied the prison in 1842. Despite the building's purpose, the prison was a popular destination for courting couples thanks to its fountains and beautiful landscaping.

In 1941, Alabama began housing female prisoners at the site and renamed the prison the Julie Tutwiler Prison for Women in honor of Julia S. Tutwiler—the "Angel of the Stockades," a proponent of inmate education and prison reforms. Inmates moved to a newly constructed Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in 1942. Today, little remains of Alabama's first penitentiary.

To learn more about Elmore County and Alabama's first penitentiary, visit the Elmore County Historical Society and Museum's Facebook page.