Pendleton Correctional Facility
| Location | 4490 W Reformatory Road Pendleton, Indiana |
|---|---|
| Status | open |
| Security class | mixed |
| Capacity | 1650 |
| Opened | 1923 |
| Managed by | Indiana Department of Corrections |
The Pendleton Correctional Facility, formerly known as the Indiana Reformatory, is a state prison located in Fall Creek Township, Madison County, near Pendleton and about 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Indianapolis. Established in 1923, it was built to replace the Indiana State Reformatory located in Jeffersonville after a fire severely damaged the original property. The Pendleton facility currently offers maximum and minimum-security housing for adult males over 22 years old. The maximum-security portion is made up of 31 acres (130,000 m2) surrounded by a concrete wall. It has an average daily population of approximately 1,650 inmates. [1] Located on the grounds outside the enclosure, the minimum-security dormitory holds approximately 200 prisoners on a daily basis.
Indiana’s first state prison was opened on January 9, 1821, in Jeffersonville. The prison, later called Indiana State Prison South, accepted inmates regardless of age, sex, offense, or sentence. In 1847, the prison buildings were in poor repair and the decision was made that it would be built a new in nearby Clarksville. Another prison opened in the northern part of the state in Michigan City, Indiana and the inmates were divided between the two. In 1897, due to the belief that young male offenders should not be housed with their older counterparts, inmates were divided by age between the South and North. The Indiana State Prison South became home to inmates age 16 to 30 and the prison was renamed the Indiana Reformatory.
During the night of February 6, 1918, a fire severely damaged the majority of the buildings at Clarksville. The Governor’s Commission decided to build a new prison in a more centrally located site. A plot of land south of the city of Pendleton was selected because Fall Creek provided a source of running water. The construction commenced at the new locale during March 1922.
Herbert W. Folz was the architect in charge of designing the new prison. The facility is an “example of a ‘radial plan’ prison, in which the cell blocks fan out from a central point.” According to a report on the Reformatory, Folz “made a conscious effort to arrange the buildings within the enclosure in such a manner that a maximum of light and air and green grass would be in evidence.” The buildings were modeled after the Spanish Colonial Revival style. The original facilities included three cell houses, a dormitory, and the administration building.
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