Mt. Gretna Maximum State Security Prison
Tuesday, June 24. 2008
A few weeks ago I was talking to Dad about the ruins of an old railroad station along the Conewago trail in Mt Gretna. During the conversation, he mentioned another ruins near Mt. Gretna, a state prison, that was never finished. My curiosity was piqued, and I did some research. I found some interesting information here (pdf), and decided to check it out.
So this evening we took a quick drive over to Lawn to try and find the ruins of the prison built there in the late 1930's. With the help of a little pamphlet from the Lebanon County Historical Society, entitled "The Mt. Gretna Maximum State Security Prison: A Monumental Failure" we were able to find something pretty quickly. The site is located just over the hill to the south of Lawn, in the PA State Game Lands, directly after the PA Turnpike bridge.
We found this octagon shaped foundation just as the pamphlet said, 1000 ft in from the gate, and to the left about 40 ft. Unfortunately, the multiflora prevented us from finding anything else. Supposedly, there is a partial structure with a few walls, as well as an old well casing, that still exists today. Perhaps a future visit will yield more information.