Thomaston, Maine: Prison Gift Shop

The unique aspect to this store is quite appealing. Adding interest to your visit is the staff, which consists of inmates themselves. I purchased a lobster rope doormat and as I was checking out, one of the inmates/craftsmen working there that day came up and explained how he makes them. Pretty cool. Business is booming he said.

The State Prison Showroom's new sign is pretty amusing!

Tons of hand-carved wood items, from model boats and toys to exquisite furniture. Very reasonable prices (and the Maine State Prison stamp on the bottom is priceless). They don't ship... we'll be prepared next time with more cargo space in the car!

The old Maine State Prison on Route 1 in Thomaston has been demolished. The idea of turning it into a tourist attraction, except for one weekend in February 2002 immediately after the inmates were relocated, was felt to be financially unviable. The Gift Shop, featuring crafts made by the inmates of the new State Prison, is still in the same place, next to the newly-vacant former Prison site.

The leaky and deteriorating Maine State Prison may be demolished if no one in Maine can be convinced to turn it into a tourist attraction. Keeping 'em locked up since 1824, the place still houses killers and all manner of vile criminals -- the kind that inspired the lovable miscreants in Stephen King's "The Shawshank Redemption." Some scenes for that film were shot at the Ohio State Reformatory (down the street from the Living Bible Museum), in Mansfield, OH....