Daily Arizona silver belt., 1908-01-16
GROUNDS WILL CONSIST OF ONE
HUNDRED AND SIXTY ACRES
OF GOOD LAND
PRISON PROPER TO COVER ABOUT
20 ACRES WITHIN WALLED
ENCLOSURE
A Great Tower viii Form the Center
Of the Buildings, Entrance to Which
win Be Had Through An Under
ground Passageway.

The board of control having selected
leo acres of land, one mile southeast
of Florence, as the site for the new
territorial prison to be erected at Flor.
ence, from now on steps toward the
construction of the penitentiary will
follow in rapid succession.
Three sites were examined by the
members of the board of control. Prison
Superintendent Rynning and Architect
II. C. frost were with the board, being
consulted about several matters in con-
nection wit hthe location of the prison.
Each Of the sites examined consists
Of 100 acres, and none of them is more
than one mile from Florence.
Arizona gets the property absolutely
without cost, it having been donated
to the territory by the people Of Flor
enee
OF the 100 acres, eighty are now
under cultivation, and sixty more now
need only to be cleared. Along the
south side runs the Florence canal from
which water can be drawn to irrigate
every foot of the land, which can be
made highly productive.
On the southeast corner of the qlar-
ter section are twenty acres of mesa
land, which stand twelve feet above
all Of the rest of the tract, overlooking
every inch of the surrounding country,
ard making, as il does, one of the most
suitable sites in Arizona for prison.
Part of the twenty acres will he en-
closed by an eighteenfoot concrete wall,
and inside will be the prison. Each
side of the square will be 600 feet,
making the area of the enclosure some
thing over eight acres.
Right at the prison site, and on the
twenty acres of mesa land are some of
the finest building sand and small rock
in the territory. Prison labor will be
used, making the only outlay for prison
buildings and the walls the cost of the
cement.
Though not an architect, the plan of
the prison is original with Governor
Kibbey, and is the result of invcsti-
cations he has made. In the center o.
the enclosure will be tower, and built
around the tower in circle will be
the buildings in which TO keep the pris-
oners
Entrance to the center tower will be
gained by tunnel from the office
buildings Just outside of the enclosure.
This tunnel will be the only means of
getting there. From the tower three
sides of every building will be in plain
view, as well as their interiors. The
fourth side of each building will be
watched from towers on the four cor
ners of the concrete walls surrounding
the enclosure.
Altogether there will be room for
eight buildings in the circle around the
tower and when all are constructed
they will accommodate 800 prisoners.
At the start there will be buildings to
accommodate about 500 and as the
number of inmates increases more build
ines can be added in conformity with
the general plan.
The appropriation for the prison is
100000, and members Of the board of
control now believe that by eliminating
the cost of labor, rock and sand the
amount will be more than sufficient to
carry out all plans. 1t is estimated
that when the entire prison is completed
which may not be for twenty years
its total cost will not have exceeded
$250,OO0.
As soon as the detailed plans fol
the prison are accepted by the board
Prison Superintendent Rynning vii
take TRUSTEES from the Yuma pen t.
Florence, and put them to work clear
ing the ground and starting work OF
the first building. Once there is place
to put cells, more prisoners VIII d.
taken from Yuma to help in the con
struction work.