1894

1894 - The Tennessee General Assembly voted to construct two state prisons and end the practice of leasing convicts for private labor. In 1894, the state acquired over nine thousand acres for the construction of the remote Brushy Mountain State Prison in Petros. An additional 4000 acres were added later. Inmates would mine coal and then cut timber from the state's holdings for use in large brick ovens to turn the Tennessee coal into "coke," a carbonaceous residue used as fuel