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Charlestown State Prison

Closed 1955Low
Verified
Aging · 4mo ago
Sources last reviewed on

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Photograph of Charlestown State Prison

Gallery

From Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA where not otherwise stated).

  • Atlas of the city of Boston - Charlestown - plate 22 (19678019318).jpg

    Photo by Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the BPL via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

  • Atlas of the city of Boston - Charlestown - plate 8 (19870994961).jpg

    Photo by Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the BPL via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

  • Atlas of the city of Boston - Charlestown and Brighton - plate D (19239668233).jpg

    Photo by Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the BPL via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

  • La garde (à cheval) devant la prison de Boston pendant l'exécution de Sacco (et) Vanzetti (Pacific) - btv1b53188025s.jpg

    Photo by Pacific and Atlantic (Agence photographique). Agence photographique pour le document reproduit (commanditaire) Agence Rol. Agence photographique (commanditaire) via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • Prison Charlestown où sont Sacco Vanzetti (Pacific) - btv1b531871965.jpg

    Photo by Pacific and Atlantic (Agence photographique). Agence photographique pour le document reproduit (commanditaire) Agence Rol. Agence photographique (commanditaire) via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • Prison de Sacco Vanzetti (Pacific) - btv1b531871893.jpg

    Photo by Pacific and Atlantic (Agence photographique). Agence photographique pour le document reproduit (commanditaire) Agence Rol. Agence photographique (commanditaire) via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • State prison 1840.jpg

    Photo by Daderot via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • State prison 1900.jpg

    Photo by Daderot via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

[42°22′29.11″N71°4′3.24″W / 42.3747528°N 71.0675667°W / 42.3747528; -71.0675667 State prison in Boston, Massachusetts Charlestown State Prison Charlestown State Prison was a correctional facility in Charlestown, Boston, Massachusetts operated by the Massachusetts Department of Correction. The facility was built at Lynde's Point, now at the intersection of Austin Street and New Rutherford Avenue, and in proximity to the Boston and Maine Railroad tracks that intersected with the Eastern Freight Railroad") tracks.[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlestown_State_Prison#cite_note-1) Bunker Hill Community College occupies the site that the prison once occupied.[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlestown_State_Prison#cite_note-CapeCodMurd29-2) In 1803 the Massachusetts General Court passed an act approving the construction of a prison.[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlestown_State_Prison#cite_note-CapeCodMurd29-2) The prison opened in 1805.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlestown_State_Prison#cite_note-3) In 1828 the construction of a north wing was underway.

Background

Charlestown State Prison was a correctional facility in Charlestown, Boston, Massachusetts operated by the Massachusetts Department of Correction. The facility was built at Lynde's Point, now at the intersection of Austin Street and New Rutherford Avenue, and in proximity to the Boston and Maine Railroad tracks that intersected with the Eastern Freight Railroad tracks. Bunker Hill Community College occupies the site that the prison once occupied. In 1803 the Massachusetts General Court passed an act approving the construction of a prison. The prison opened in 1805.

Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.

Capacity

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Current population

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Occupancy

—

Year opened

1805

Closed 1955

Figures from official sources · verified 3 Jul 2026 · methodology

Facility profile

Population held

Mixed/unknown

Opened

1805

Region

—

Security level

—

Death-row facility

No

Conditions

No conditions summary available yet.

Visiting

No visiting information available.

Mailing

No mailing information available.

Practical info

Contact the operator's website for inmate-specific procedures.

Known issues

No major issues documented in our database.

Contact & address

No public contact details available.

Conditions Risk Score

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—
Insufficient data
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Data completeness

28%

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Sources

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APA
World Prisons. (2026). Charlestown State Prison. Retrieved October 28, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/charlestown-state-prison
Chicago
"Charlestown State Prison." World Prisons. Accessed October 28, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/charlestown-state-prison.
BibTeX
@misc{worldprisons-charlestown-state-prison,
  author = {{World Prisons}},
  title = {Charlestown State Prison},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/charlestown-state-prison},
  urldate = {2026-10-28}
}