World Prisons
All prisons

United States · Jefferson City

Missouri State Penitentiary

MaximumClosed 2004Low
Verified
Aging · 4mo ago
Sources last reviewed on

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.

For families

How to send mail, money, and visit Missouri State Penitentiary

Step-by-step guidance using the United States system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.

Open toolkit
Photograph of Missouri State Penitentiary
Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Gallery

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

  • Death chamber at Missouri State Penitentiary (26457186858).jpg

    Photo by Chris Friese from Springfield , United States via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

  • Death chamber at Missouri State Penitentiary (26457190868).jpg

    Photo by Chris Friese from Springfield , United States via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

  • Death chamber at Missouri State Penitentiary (26457196228).jpg

    Photo by Chris Friese from Springfield , United States via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

  • Death chamber at Missouri State Penitentiary (40328871691).jpg

    Photo by Chris Friese from Springfield , United States via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

  • Gas Chamber (25457326117).jpg

    Photo by Chris Friese from Springfield , United States via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

  • Jail Cage in yellow hallway.jpg

    Photo by Steve Mays via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

  • Line of prisoners at State Penitentiary, Jefferson City, MO.jpg

    Photo by Oscar C. Kuehn via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • Missouri State Penitentiary (40283365682).jpg

    Photo by Chris Friese from Springfield , United States via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Missouri State Penitentiary Former prison in Jefferson City, Missouri, United States The Missouri State Penitentiary was a prison in Jefferson City, Missouri, that operated from 1836 to 2004.[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_State_Penitentiary#cite_note-1) Part of the Missouri Department of Corrections, it served as the state of Missouri's primary maximum security institution.[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_State_Penitentiary#cite_note-SDI8-2) Before it closed, it was the oldest operating penal facility west of the Mississippi River. It was replaced by the Jefferson City Correctional Center, which opened on September 15, 2004.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_State_Penitentiary#cite_note-3) The penitentiary is now a tourist attraction, and guided tours are offered.

Background

The Missouri State Penitentiary was a prison in Jefferson City, Missouri, that operated from 1836 to 2004. Part of the Missouri Department of Corrections, it served as the state of Missouri's primary maximum security institution. Before it closed, it was the oldest operating penal facility west of the Mississippi River. It was replaced by the Jefferson City Correctional Center, which opened on September 15, 2004. The penitentiary is now a tourist attraction, and guided tours are offered.

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

Capacity

—

Current population

—

Occupancy

—

Year opened

1836

Closed 2004

Figures from official sources · verified 3 Jul 2026 · methodology

Facility profile

Operator

—

Population held

Mixed/unknown

Opened

1836

Region

Jefferson City

Security level

Maximum

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.

Notable inmates

  • Kate Richards O'Hare
    Kate Richards O'Hare
    1876–1948 · politician

    Carrie Katherine "Kate" Richards O'Hare (March 26, 1876 – January 10, 1948) was an American socialist, editor, and orator best known for her controversial imprisonment during World War I.

  • James Earl Ray
    James Earl Ray
    1928–1998 · convict

    James Earl Ray (March 10, 1928 – April 23, 1998) was an American fugitive who was convicted of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

  • Emma Goldman
    Emma Goldman
    1869–1940 · anarchist

    Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born anarchist revolutionary, political activist, and writer.

  • Mollie Steimer
    Mollie Steimer
    1897–1980 · writer

    Mollie Steimer (Ukrainian: Моллі Штаймер; November 21, 1897 – July 23, 1980) was an anarchist activist.

Source: Wikidata + Wikipedia.

Contact & address

No public contact details available.

Conditions Risk Score

Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated

—
Insufficient data
We don't have enough public data on this facility to score it. Have something to add? Send us a correction.

Related facilities

All in United States →

Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.

Data completeness

32%

How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.

Sources

Cite this page

Under CC-BY-4.0. Include the URL and access date; the site is a living reference and entries can change.

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