8 OLDEST PRISONS IN THE U.S.

RANK	PRISON	YEAR OPENED	CURRENT STATUS
8	West Virginia State Penitentiary	1876	Closed – currently used as tourist attraction and law enforcement training facility.
7	Joliet Correctional Center	1858	Closed – now open for tours
6	San Quentin State Prison	1852	Operational – home to largest death row in the country
5	Missouri State Penitentiary	1836	Closed – now a museum
4	Eastern State Penitentiary	1829	Closed – now a museum and is on the National Register of Historic Places
3	Sing Sing Correctional Facility	1828	Operational – dubbed the “Death House” because of the 614 electric chair executions that took place between 1891 and 1963.
2	Auburn Correctional Facility	1817	Operational – first prison to put inmates in individual cells
1	New Jersey State Prison	1798	Operational – oldest prison still standing

Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia, PA