Kentucky State Reformatory (KSR) is a medium-security prison for adult males. The prison is located in unincorporated Oldham County, Kentucky, near La Grange,"La Grange city, Kentucky ." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on July 20, 2010. and about northeast of Louisville, in the United States. It opened in 1940Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY 16 Aug 1940 to replace the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Frankfort (later known as Kentucky State Reformatory) after a flood damaged the original property. As of 2024, the capacity of KSR is 1,051 inmates.
History Funds for the first prison in Kentucky were allocated in 1798. The small prison, housing 30 convicts, opened in 1800. The site chosen was Frankfort, Kentucky, the capital city. Through its 137 years of history, the population grew and more buildings added. Funds for a second prison had been allocated in 1879 to be called the "Branch Penitentiary" and to be located in Eddyville, Kentucky.
The names of these two prisons were referred to in this way until the Prison Reform Bill of 1910, passed by the General Assembly, changed the mode of management of the two prisons; making one "reform" and the other "penal." This reform bill included the changing of capital punishment from the gallows to the electric chair. Frankfort did not want the chair because of lack of room and curiosity seekers. Therefore, the Frankfort Penitentiary became known as Kentucky State Reformatory and the "Branch" was deleted from the name in Eddyville's prison and officially named Kentucky State Penitentiary.
By the time of the 1937 flood,The Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, KY 22 Jan 1937 p1 Penitentiary at Frankfort under three feet of water. that made this facility totally uninhabitable, there were 2,900 inmates, both male and female. The Kentucky Legislature of 1936 appropriated funds for erection of a new State "Medium Security" Institution to replace the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Frankfort /Reformatory.The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY 27 Oct 1936 p16 Possible Sites for New Prison to be Inspected Next Week The cost had not yet been determined but was to be met from a Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) grant.
Governor A. B. Chandler ordered the Frankfort Reformatory abandoned because the flood had hastened its end. However, the pending program for building and rehabilitating State institutions included a new prison to replace it.The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY 12 Feb 1937 p6 Governor Order Dooms Reformatory The prisons were under the Welfare Department, with Commissioner of Welfare being Frederick A. Wallis.Interior Journal, Stanford, KY 12 Feb 1937 p4 A Good Appointment
Site and Construction March 1937: 2,884 acres in Oldham County was purchased by the State of Kentucky at a price of $141,033, or $48.53 per acre, for use as prison farm; construction of buildings, etc., and will cost approximately $1,500,000.The Owensboro Messenger, Owensboro, KY 9 Mar Mar 1937 p10 No subtitle Advertisement for Bids was advertised in local papers with a list of specifications.The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY 27 May 1937 pp26,34 That same month, 200 prisoners arrived in Oldham County to work at the site of the new state prison.The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY, March 6, 1937 p12 A New City Arises in Oldham County As 200 Convicts Arrive to work at Site of New State PrisonCourier-Journal, Louisville, KY 4 Mar 1937 p20 1st Tents Erected For Penal Colony in Oldham County. A. L. Coupe Construction Company, Louisville, Kentucky, was awarded the contract by the State to construct six dormitory buildings at the new State prison farm near LaGrange.The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY 11 Jun 1937p16 City Firm Wins Contract for New Prison
Construction began in 1937 of the Kentucky State Reformatory in La Grange,Kentucky Advocate, Danville, KY 27 Feb 1937 p1 Oldham is Site for Penal Farm as designed by William Strudwick Arrasmith. Other architects associated in the construction were Herman Wischmeyer, Oscar Joseph, Fred Elswick, Alfred Joseph, J. J. Curtis, Hugh Meriwether, J. T. Gillig, L. K. Frankel, H. A. Churchill, John Wilson of Lexington and McDermott, who directed the program.The Paducah Sun-Democrat, Paducah, Kentucky 2 Sep 1938 p12 9 Dormitories at La Grange to Be Ready Soon The State Reformatory was a model of social reform. The new prison has open-winged dormitories instead of the traditional individual cells. It was surrounded by of the new state-owned farmland that the inmates manage. In addition to running the farm, the inmates also worked in the rock quarry nearby. The spacious new dormitories and farmland were designed to encourage prisoners to reform.
The Krause-Weilage Company of Louisville had the contract for air-conditioning the operating rooms in the hospital, in the Administration Building, and refrigeration equipment in the mess hall.The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY 3 Oct 1938 p17 Prison Hospital Air-Conditioned
From Temporary Barracks 1937 to Move in Day 1940 When 200 of the prisoners from the Frankfort Reformatory arrived at the new site they were housed in tents much like they had lived after the flood in Frankfort. By June, they were building temporary barracks; i.e., mess hall, housing, administration, etc.The courier-Journal, Louisville, KY 5 June 1937 pp1,12 Kentucky Prison Builders Must Eat, Too Moving day from the temporary barracks, located about 800 yards away from the newly constructed structure occurred in March 1940. The buildings were on a 2,900-acre tract of land. At a cost of $2,500,000, sixteen buildings were reported to be of the best in modern prisons.Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY 16 Aug 1940
Wardens Kentucky State Reformatory James W. Hammond The Advocate-Messenger, Danville, KY 15 Feb 1936 p1 Flying Unit to Guard Reformatory Inmates—1936-1944-- A. S. Nunn /The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY 30 Apr 1954 p57 Obituary of - gives career information—1944 – 1945-- Francis S. Kiernen Cincinnati Enquirer 24 Jun 1945 p26 New Warden Named at LaGrange.—Jun 1945 – Dec 1948-- Renald L. Whaley Advocate Messenger 12 Nov 1951 p10 Warden at LaGrange Tenders Resignation—Dec. 1948- Nov 1951-- Porter B. Lady Courier Journal 16 Mar 1956 p25 Peter Lady is Relieved as Warden—Mar 1952 -Mach 1956—He had been deputy warden one year prior. Dan Gray Courier Journal 16 Mar 1956 p25 Peter Lady is Relieved as Warden; names his replacement—Mar 1956 Jan 1960—KSR was first prison to have a nine-hole golf course. Golf course built 1957.The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY 24 Jul 1959 LaGrange was First. photo David S. Davis Messenger Inquirer, Danville, KY 3 Jul 1965 p9 David Davis Resigns Post at LaGrange—Jan 1960 – July 1965-- Harold E. Black The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY 12 Nov 1970 p33 Harold Black Named Reformatory Warden—July 1965 – Jan 1966—Acting Warden after Davis resigned. Martin J. Wiman Montgomery Advertiser, AL 29 Dec 1965 p2 Wiman Given Reformatory Warden's Post—Jan 1966 June 1967-- James E. Howard The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY 7 Jul 1967 p5 Acting Superintendent Made Permanent at Reformatory—Mar 1967 Nov 1970The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY 14 Aug 1970 Reformatory Warden Howard is TransferredThe Courier-Journal 15 Dec 1970 p2 Former head of reformatory to leave system - James F. Howard—1967: No longer called wardens – now known as superintendentsPaducah Sun, Paducah, KY 20 Aug 1967 p23 photos of superintendents Howard and Mrs. Gail Huecker of Peewee Valley women's institution. Harold E. Black The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY 7 Aug 1977 p114 Changing of the guard in corrections (Black retires) and Sowders moves up—Nov 1970 – Aug 1977-- Dewey Sowders The Courier-Journal 4 Jan 1979 p2 New warden (Sowders) at Prison plans work-program changes—Aug 1977- Jan 1979 -- Stephen T. Smith The Courier-Journal 14 Jan 1979 p20 New warden at La Grange says security is top priority—Jan 1979-1980 -- John D. Rees The Courier-Journal 7 Nov 1980 p2 Warden (Steve Smith) to be replaced at state reformatory (John Rees)The Courier-Journal, 19 Dec 1980—1980 – 1986 The Courier-Journal 1 Jul 1986 p5 Reformatory warden (Rees) is leaving for position with private jail firm-- -Later John Rees became Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Corrections 2004–2008. Betty Kassulke The Courier-Journal 30 Jul 1986 p7 Betty Kassulke, female interim warden named at men's prison—Jul 1986 – Oct 1986—Interim warden 1986 Al Parke The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY 27 Sep 1986 p7 State appoints new warden (Al Parke) at La Grange reformatory—1986 – 1992-- Walter Chapleau The Post-Star, Glenn Falls, NY 16 Aug 1992 p39 Ticonderoga woman's son appointed wardenphoto The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY 30 Jul 1996 p12—1992 – 1995-- William "Bill" Seabold Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY 27 Nov 2003 p43 Warden closes door on 33-year career - Bill SeaboldThe Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY 17 Aug 1996 p6 La Grange warden (William Seabold) is latest new face in a top prison job—1996 – 2003-- Larry Chandler The Oldham Era, LaGrange, KY 4 Dec 2003 The Changing of the Guard—2003-2008 Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, KY 14 Jul 2008 Kentucky State Reformatory warden retiring in August after 30 years—Had previously been warden of Luther Luckett Correctional Complex. July 2020 Larry Chandler Named WardenDepartment of Corrections press release 2 Jul 2020 Larry Chandler Named Warden of Southeast State Correctional Complex of the new prison Southern State Correctional Complex (SSCC), Wheelwright, Kentucky J. David Donahue Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY 25 Jun 2008 pB1 Ind. prisons chief taking Ky. post. Photos: J. David Donahue and Larry Chandler—2008 – 2009-- Cookie Crews Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY 23 Dec 2009 New Warden Cookie Crews savors challenge.—2009 – 2012–2012 Cookie Crew was promotedKentucky Department of Corrections press release 30 May 2012 Cookie Crews Promoted to Health Services Administrator; Clark Taylor Promoted to Warden at KSR to health services administrator. 2020 Cookie Crews named Kentucky Department of Corrections Commissioner.The Louisville Courier-Journal 16 May 2020 pA2 Kentucky gets new corrections commissioner. Photo Clark J. Taylor Kentucky Department of Corrections press release 30 May 2012 Cookie Crews Promoted to Health Services Administrator; Clark Taylor Promoted to Warden at KSR—2012 – 2014—Retires Kentucky Department of Corrections press release 30 April 2014 Clark Taylor to Retire as Warden at KSR; Aaron Smith Promoted to Fill the Post as warden at KSR in 2014 Aaron B. Smith Kentucky Department of Corrections press release 30 April 2014 Clark Taylor to Retire as Warden at KSR; Aaron Smith Promoted to Fill the Post—2014 – 2018-- Anna L. Valentine Kentucky Department of Corrections press release 29 Jun 2018 Anna Valentine Named Warden at Kentucky State Reformatory—2018 – current
Forensic Psychiatric Unit October 1, 1975 an announcement was made that a forensic psychiatric care unit would be built and operated at LaGrange State Reformatory by Gov. Julian Carroll. The unit was authorized by the 1972 General Assembly. It had been planned for Central State Hospital but that facility was later leased to a private organization. The new facility to be jointly operated by Departments of Justice and Human Resources to provide psychiatric examination for persons needing that service prior to a court appearance.Lexington Herald, Lexington, KY 2 Oct 1975 Forensic Psychiatric Unit Planned
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