The very 1st state prison in the United States was founded before there were states at all, let alone united ones. Connecticuts New-Gate Prison, originally a copper mine, was began its role as a detention center in the fall of 1773 as the colonys public gaol and workhouse. It was called New-Gate after the fearsome prison of the same name in England. During the early years of the American Revolutionary War it held captured loyalists and torries. It was also a Prisoner of War facility in the American Civil War.
The people of Connecticut were no less concerned with budget over-run in the late 18th century than we are today, so the supposed self-sufficiency of New-Gate was very appealing. Copper could still be mined from the dank tunnels that made up the prison, allowing prisoners to pay for their own upkeep. In addition, the structure of the prison, i.e. two shafts, a couple of iron trap-doors and a veritable dungeon of mine tunnels, meant that a minimal staff would be needed. This included the warden or Keeper three guards or overseers and a few skilled miners, paid from the prisoners salaries, to instruct the prisoner on the finer points of copper mining.
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