The History of the Federal Penitentiary at Lewisburg – the first history of "The Big House" with nearly 60 period photographs and drawings, most never published before. Tells about the selection, in the 1930s, of Lewisburg, Union County, PA, as the site for the first penitentiary built for the then-new
Federal Bureau of Prisons. The prison's important and cutting edge architecture, illustrated and fully detailed, was designed according to the philosophy of reform and redemption rather than retribution; the prison was a ground-breaking facility. Includes information on the local community, prison wardens and inmates.