Howard, Rhode Island

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Howard was originally a farming hamlet in the southern part of Cranston, Rhode Island. In the mid-19th century, most of the land was acquired by the State of Rhode Island to construct a state prison, a poor house, and other state facilities. The Rhode Island State prison, built here in 1892, and now called the Maximum Security Building, is a stark and imposing gothic structure built of granite block. Over the last several decades, numerous other institutional buildings for incarcerated criminals and the mentally retarded were constructed here. Today, Howard encompasses an area of almost one square mile. Its numerous prison buildings house over 2,000 male and female prisoners as well as several hundred mental health patients.

[edit] References and external links

• RI Historical Society Howard Prison records

[edit] See also

• List of prisons in Rhode Island
• Rhode Island Department of Corrections

This article is one in a series of articles about the Rhode Island State Prison System, which consists of eight facilities for both those awaiting trial and serving sentences. There are six prisons for men and two for women. See also: Intake Service Center | High Security Center | Maximum Security | John J. Moran Medium Security Facility | Donald Price Medium Security Facility | Minimum Security | Gloria McDonald Awaiting Trial and Medium Security Facility | Dorothea Dix Minimum Security Facility