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Maryland Penitentiary
Baltimore August 28^th 1826

To His Excellency
Joseph Kent Governor of Maryland

The Director of the Maryland Penitentiary
having received your communication of the 11^th ins^t, enclosing
a Letter from Governor Carroll of Tennessee, requesting various
information, respecting the Institution, they have caused to be
drawn up, and in compliance with your request, transmit
to your Excellency, the following statement, answering as fully
as is practicable, the several queries proposed

1^st What is the size of your Penitentiary?

The Walls surrounding the Buildings are Eighteen
feet in height, three and a half feet in thickness at the base,
and gradually decline to two feet, three inches in thickness at
top, they are surmounted by a wooden parapet of four feet,
and enclose an area of four Acres.

2. What did it cost, and how long has it been in use

The Original cost of the lot and Buildings, was
Eighty eight Thousand, Four Hundred and seventeen Dollars.
The occasional additions that have since been made, have increased
their value to One Hundred and forty five Thousand Four