Dan River Prison Work Farm Nearing Completion

North Carolina Department of Correction news release

February 13, 1997

Dan River Prison Work Farm Nearing Completion

YANCEYVILLE -- Work is a part of the name of the Dan River Prison Work Farm, a new style of prison where inmate construction workers are finishing their jobs.

"From the initial design, this prison has been geared towards putting inmates to work" said state Correction Secretary Mack Jarvis. "Inmates built this prison and we're prepared to put inmates to work farming and helping nearby communities."
	Work on the prison is near completion and the new prison should begin receiving inmates in April. The prison sits on a 175-acre site that provides space for farming operations that will supply produce year round. The prison has a squad room and loading area that will make it easy for correction staff to ready inmates for work assignments.

Dan River will put 13 squads of inmates to work in the Governor's Community Work Program. Once it reaches full operation, the prison work farm will have the state's largest number of inmates assigned to the community work squads. Correctional officers will supervise squads of up to 14 inmates working for public agencies in Caswell and seven neighboring counties.

Another 160 inmates will be put to work in farm operations. They will grow produce in six acres behind the prison. The inmates will also work in greenhouses growing tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers. Once it reaches full operation, the farm will have the largest produce greenhouse operation in the state and will supply produce to 23 Piedmont area prisons.

Construction of the Dan River dormitory is the largest inmate construction project in North Carolina since inmates built Central Prison in Raleigh in the 1890s. Another prison work farm is being built with inmate labor. It is in Tyrrell County.

A squad of 23 medium security inmates from Caswell Correctional Center continue to finish work on the 53,000 square foot building that will house 650 inmates. Another 15 minimum security inmates have been assigned to the prison and are housed in the prison work farm's segregation unit. Once the housing unit construction is completed and meets inspections, the department will begin to assign inmates to the prison.

Inmate Construction
Community Work Program
Prison Farm
Dan River Correctional Staff