Early History
The hospital was originally the site of the Apalachicola Arsenal, built in the 1830s and named after the nearby Apalachicola River. The hospital's current Administration Building is the original Officers' Quarters of the Arsenal and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It served as a supply depot during the Seminole Wars. The first engagement of the American Civil War in Florida took place here on January 6, 1861 when a Confederate militia unit from Quincy overcame Union soldiers at the Arsenal.
In 1868, Florida Governor Harrison Reed made the arsenal property at Chattahoochee into Florida's first penitentiary. Florida's first recorded inmate was Calvin Williams, incarcerated in Chattahoochee in November 1868 for the crime of larceny and sentenced to one year. By 1869 there were 42 inmates and 14 guards. In 1871, the prison was put under civilian jurisdiction. Malachi Martin was appointed as warden, gaining a reputation for cruelty and corruption. He used prison labor for his personal benefit to build houses and tend his personal vineyards, amassing a huge fortune. The book The American Siberia, written in 1891, portrayed the Chattahoochee prison as a place of relentless barbarity. The prisoners were relocated in 1876 to a prison at Raiford, Florida and the prison became a state hospital.
Read more about this topic: Florida State Hospital
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