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Description
This 1894 photograph shows the mess hall at Folsom State Prison. Three guards stand at the ready, armed with lead-tipped canes. No firearms were allowed inside the cellblock. Most of the prison’s guards were hired locally. The primary criteria for employment were the candidate’s ability to, one, be an expert shot with a firearm; and two, have no qualms about killing an inmate on sight. Guard towers and firing platforms were could be fit with Gatling guns, a Lowell battery gun, Henry and Winchester rifles, pistols, shotguns and even a six pound howitzer. Numerous metallic mess kits sit atop the room’s tables.
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