Members of the prison committee make their way toward the control center of Chillicothe Correctional Center as they begin their tour of the prison grounds on Thursday. The committee, organized by Mayor Chuck Haney, is to explore possible future uses for the facility once the state hands over the buildings and grounds to the city. That transaction is planned to take place in January 2009.

C-T Photo/Catherine Stortz Ripley

April 4, 2008 - Chillicothe community leaders toured the buildings and grounds of the state-owned Chillicothe Correctional Center complex on Third Street to get a better idea of what the city will be responsible for once the state moves its offenders to the new prison and gives the Third Street property to the city. Escorted by prison superintendent Jennifer Miller, members of the mayor-appointed committee on Thursday toured the buildings on the north side of the street and, after going through necessary clearance procedures, crossed the street and entered into the maximum security correctional center. Here, they toured the major buildings, including housing units, the central kitchen, the medical building, the education/recreation building, the boiler house, and the laundry building. Most of the buildings toured were built between 1934 and 1967. The oldest building on campus is the 1895 McReynolds building which is no longer in use.

The overall facility began in 1887 as the Industrial Home for Girls, housing girls between seven and 21 years of age. In 1947 the facility became known as the State Training School for Girls, under the direction of the Missouri Division of Youth Services. It wasn't until 1981 that the institution became a correctional center under the Missouri Department of Corrections system. The current facility, though, is difficult to maintain and inefficient as a correctional center which is why the state is now building a new $120 million correctional center in north Chillicothe. When the state was considering to close the Third Street facility several years ago the city of Chillicothe agreed to buy land north of town on which a new up-to-date correctional center could be built. The new prison, with capacity of more than 1,600 offenders, is about 80 percent complete and is expected to be opened later this year.

In addition to providing the state with land, the city also agreed to take over the old prison grounds. The grounds consist of 33 structures, including the administration building and training center on the north side of Third Street as well as 31 structures of varying sizes and uses within the fenced area. The property also includes around around 13 acres of vacant land. The prison committee was recently appointed by Chillicothe Mayor Chuck Haney to seek solutions for the use of the state's women's prison. After touring the facility Thursday afternoon, the group met and elected officers: Ron Wolf as chairman and Cindy Hanavan as secretary.