In 1829, the Federal Penitentiary was built on this site. Designed by Charles Bulfinch, the Architect of the Capitol, the Penitentiary was influenced by the prison reform movement of the 1820s. In 1831, an eastern extension to the building added a women's ward and quarters for the deputy warden. The Deputy Warden's Quarters is all that remains of the original structures. The center of national attention in 1865, this part of the building became the site of the trial and sentencing of those implicated in the assassination of President Lincoln. Four conspirators were sentenced to die, including the first woman executed by Federal order, Mary Surratt. The gallows were constructed in the Penitentiary Courtyard and the executions took place July 7, 1865.
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