Missouri State Penitentiary Warden's House

Designed in 1888, the Missouri State Penitentiary Warden's House, or Col. Darwin W. Marmaduke House, served as the home for wardens of the adjacent Missouri State Penitentiary. Prison wardens, considered a high-profile occupation during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, used the house until 1991. The prison, which opened in 1836, closed in 2004 as the oldest (longest-running) correctional facility west of the Mississippi; it now operates as a museum. 

The prison arose partly because of Jefferson City's efforts to remain the state capital. Numerous cities competed to become the state's political hub. So, in 1831, Governor John Miller proposed a plan to build a prison in Jefferson City to ensure it remained the capital, despite strong opposition from such cities as Columbia and St. Louis. The Missouri House of Representatives barely passed the measure (25 to 24) in January 1833.

Technically, the establishment of the prison took place in 1832, making it the oldest state penitentiary system west of the Mississippi River when it closed in 2004. According to a Jefferson City directory published in 1900, the Missouri State Penitentiary also stood as the largest single institution of its kind in the United States. Construction on the prison facility began in 1834, the year after the Missouri Legislature approved the funding, and opened in 1836. Lewis Bolton, a prominent resident whose historic stone home and farmstead sit on the south end of town along the Osage River, acted as its first warden. 

The completely self-sufficient complex included a brickyard and stone quarry, which provided the materials to build the warden's house. The prison also had clothing factories, a library, a chapel, a cemetery, and an adjoining forty-eight-acre farm. Finally, the prison operated a power plant that served the penitentiary, the Capitol and Supreme Court buildings, an Armory, and the warden's house. 

In January 1885, Missouri Governor John Sappington Marmaduke appointed his brother Col. Darwin W. Marmaduke as the prison warden. e Marmaduke family had a long history of holding political offices in Missouri and Kentucky. Col. Darwin worked in private business but struggled after the Civil War. He took a job as a Sherrif, which eventually put him on the path to becoming a prison warden. Using prison materials and relying almost solely on an inmate workforce, construction on the warden's house began in 1888, allowing Col Darwin to become the first warden to reside in the now-historic home. 

Brooks, Michelle. "The warden's house, a Jefferson City landmark." News Tribune. newstribune.com. August 28, 2016. https://www.newstribune.com/news/2016/aug/28/wardens-house-jefferson-city-landmark/.

Freiman, Lauren Sable. "Colonel Bolton Home." Jefferson City Magazine. December 28, 2016. https://jeffersoncitymag.com/colonel-bolton-home/.

"Institutions." Cole County Historical Museum. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.colecountyhistoricalmuseum.org/institutions.

"Landmark home associated with prison for 103 years." News Tribune. newstribune.com. April 22, 2012. https://www.newstribune.com/news/2012/apr/22/landmark-home-associated-prison-103-years/.

Missouri State Penitentiary Tours. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.missouripentours.com/.

Sone, Stacy. "Registration Form: Missouri State Penitentiary Warden's House." National Register of Historic Places. mostateparks.com. 1991. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Missouri%20State%20Pen%20Warden%27s%20House.pdf.