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Description
This circa-1900 photograph shows several inmates at work in one of Folsom Prison’s lower-yard quarries. A derrick is at the ready for lifting extracted rock. To the lower right of the photograph is a portion of the prison’s electric-powered rock crusher. The State of California was a pioneer in the use of convict labor for profit, selling crushed rock to the public for a low price. The Folsom venture also provided impetus to macadamized highway improvement and expansion throughout California. As time went on, however, the lobbying efforts of trade unions, representing professional stone workers, forced legislation that prohibited convict stone-cutting for anything other than prison improvements.
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