Down the Road

Photographs and stories by Jim Grey

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The houses on the grounds of the Putnamville Correctional Facility

Jim Grey
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As you pass by the Putnamville Correctional Facility on US 40 in Putnam County, Indiana, you can’t help but notice the brick houses scattered around the property.

There are apparently 25 of them, although when I look at the area on Google Maps I count only 19. I must be missing the rest. They are rented at nominal fee, utilities paid, to key employees of the prison. That way, those people are always close by in case of a crisis.

I’ve long wondered if these houses were built with prison labor.

Houses on the Putnamville Correctional Facility
Houses on the Putnamville Correctional Facility
Houses on the Putnamville Correctional Facility
Houses on the Putnamville Correctional Facility
Houses on the Putnamville Correctional Facility
Houses on the Putnamville Correctional Facility

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Comments

8 responses to “The houses on the grounds of the Putnamville Correctional Facility”

  1. J P Avatar
    J P

    Living on the grounds of a prison would certainly be a conversation starter. Though maybe not a conversation many of us would want to be in for long.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      I’ve read that this prison’s leadership has been a real Peyton Place, and racist as all get out. Just an ugly mess.

      Reply
  2. Greg Clawson Avatar
    Greg Clawson

    Jim, according to Wikipedia they used to make bricks there at the prison. So it’s a good theory that they were built by inmates.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      It seems highly likely that these were built by inmates then!

      Reply
  3. Andy Umbo Avatar
    Andy Umbo

    Always interested in institutional / governmental construction. Solid brickwork, no half-assed clapboard construction here! Plenty of 30’s era WPA construction in my area still standing strong. For years I used to drive by Great Lakes Naval, north of Chicago, and a while back they were reducing operations and repurposing many of their government built houses for officers into rental and sales properties for the general public. Couldn’t buy a more solid built house!

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      I’m betting WPA construction will last 200 years or more.

      Reply
  4. Rayne DeVivo Avatar
    Rayne DeVivo

    I asked my dad about those houses this weekend and he said they were WPA built, not inmates.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      Thanks for finding out! That also gives a good idea of when they were built – depression era.

      Reply

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