On my recent road trip I came across an eerie place.  I try to avoid Interstate highways whenever possible so that means that I come across the “bones” of America so to speak. By that I mean towns and other places that have been left to the ravages of time.  I will admit that sometimes I get depressed by taking this route across America. To see towns that are now not more than a couple of occupied houses surrounded by abandoned buildings. If I understand it right that is where most of Mr. Trump’s supporters come from.  But that is a different story…

When I drove by the site just outside a small town in northern Illinois I took a double take. Up near the road was what appeared to be a hundred year old abandoned mansion. That is somewhat unusual for an area like that but what really got my attention is that it was surrounded by razor coiled wire. I hit the brakes and did a U-turn to investigate. It turns out that I had discovered the Dwight Illinois Correctional Center.

Here is what Wikipedia says about that:

Dwight Correctional Center was an Illinois Department of Corrections maximum security prison for adult females. It is located at 23813 E. 3200 North Road in Nevada Township, unincorporated Livingston County, Illinois, near Dwight. Prior to the 2011 abolition of the state death penalty,  Dwight Correctional Center housed the State of Illinois female death row…

The prison was originally opened on November 24, 1930 as the Oakdale Reformatory for Women. It sits on 100 acres of land. The facility was closed at the end of March 2013.

In the last four years time is starting to take over that abandoned facility. Weeds are growing everywhere and tree limbs are scattered on the ground. Well that is enough of a description. Let’s get on to the pictures…

Click on any picture to see an enlarged slideshow view