Henry, Years ago I was doing some research on the suppression of the Gabriel Conspiracy of 1800 in the Library of Virginia manuscript collections, and came across has a report on the penitentiary. Along with reports of prisoner diet, expenditures of various kinds, it also discussed what they produced in the prison workshops. The report was in the Governor's papers (James Monroe's adminstration). I'm sorry I can't give you a specific date beyond that. Good luck. David Kiracofe David Kiracofe History Tidewater Community College Chesapeake Campus 1428 Cedar Road Chesapeake, Virginia 23322 757-822-5136 >>> Henry Wiencek <[log in to unmask]> 06/27/07 11:50 AM >>> Having done soap, I turn to nails. Jefferson had a nailery at Monticello in the 1790s and early 1800s (until he was run out of business by cheap British imports) where he set to work slaves aged 10-16. A dissertation says that Jefferson's local competition for his nailery was the Virginia State Penitentiary. The designer of the 'pen,' Benjamin Henry Latrobe, consulted with Jefferson on the design. The new prison was supposed to reflect the most advanced "liberal" thinking on prison reform. I'm digging into the sources, but does anyone know anything about the nailery at the state prison? I'm wondering if it was Jefferson's idea, Latrobe's idea, or someone else's. Henry Wiencek