Iowa State Penitentiary

The Iowa State Penitentiary is an Iowa Department of Corrections maximum security prison for men located in the Lee County, Iowa community of Fort Madison. ISP is part of a larger correctional complex. The ISP itself is a 550 person maximum security unit. Also on the complex is a John Bennett Correctional Center - a 169 person medium security unit. Two minimum security farms with about 170 people are located within a few miles of the main complex. The complex also has a ten person multiple care unit, and a 120 bed special needs unit for prisoners with mental illness or other diseases that require special medical care. In total there are about 950 inmates and 510 staff members.The prison offers adult basic, general, and special education services. The prison offers vocational training in upholstering, commercial cooking, automobile repair, printing, and machining. The prison also provides labor for two large farms, one crop and one livestock. For those with drug or alcohol problems a six month substance abuse program is offered. Alcoholics Anonymous also operates at the complex.HistoryThe prison was established in 1839, one year after Iowa became a territory, and seven years before it became a state in 1846. ISP was patterned after the penitentiary in Auburn, New York. In 1982 the prison was remodeled, and unitization was introduced at ISP. The unitization divided the large cell blocks into smaller units that were easier to manage. In 2008 the prisons library was moved to another location on the grounds. The ISP library offers an extensive book collection, as well as computers for inmate use. However, prisoners do not have access to the Internet.