HARD TIME, HARD LABOR Serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison was a terrifying proposition - even for cold-hearted convicts. With no hope of escape, there was little motivation to exhibit model citizenship. However, a steady flow of backbreaking work kept most inmates too occupied to cause trouble. In the 1890's, inmates harvested timber from the nearby forest to build the original prison, and in the 1930's they quarried limestone to build its new stone structure. Others toiled in the laundry, the kitchen, butcher house, dairy barn, blacksmith shop or in the fields. For the better part of 70 years, convicts were predominantly tasked with mining nearby coal mines, and spent at least 12 hours a day deep underground. Many died due to horrific mining-related causes such as cave-ins, explosions, pneumonia, and later, black lung disease. Not only was Brushy the end of the line, it seemed worse than Hell on Earth.

Creation Date: 2019-07-28 13:39:26
Modification Date: 2026-06-10 06:44:26
Camera: NIKON CORPORATION / NIKON D5100
Lens: Nikon AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G
Aperture: f/4.2
Focal Length: 26 mm
Exposure Time: 0.016666666666667
ISO: 3200
MeteringMode: 5