The Exhibit

This exhibit, A New Road Map, invites visitors to:

learn about the impact of the chain gang and road camp prison eras on life in North Carolina
see themselves as part of the latest era of the history of incarceration
think about alternatives to mass incarceration

After its online launch, the exhibit will tour North Carolina and beyond with GrowingChange, with a special focus on reaching young people.

Listen to Audio Stories from the exhibit of people connected to Wagram prison history.

Go to our Learn More page to interact with maps of the changing prison landscape of over a century of incarceration in North Carolina.

Check out our News & Events page for updates on how you can visit the traveling exhibit, once it goes on the road.

Introduction

One place can hold a big story.

We are GrowingChange, a youth organization in Scotland County, NC. We are transforming a former prison into a farm and community center.

Learn the history of this prison in Wagram, NC from the people who lived it. Ask yourself:

Together, what can we do about mass incarceration?

Decommissioned Prisons

Decommissioned (closed) prison camps are in dark grey; light grey are still open. The former Wagram prison is marked with the green GrowingChange logo. Courtesy Group Project at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Map of North Carolina marked with x's indicating that there are many former prisons that have been closed. Caption reads, "The Wagram prison is one among many closed NC prisons. Courtesy Group Project at MIT"

North Carolina’s Prison Population, by Race

Bar chart outlining NC’s prison population (2018 data) versus total population (2010 Census data). Caption reads,

Black and white photograph of prison corridor. A guard is looking into prison cells. — Inside Wagram prison, 1988. Courtesy Raleigh News & Observer

Six people outside construct an outbuilding — GrowingChange leaders, 2019. Photo by Andie Rea

Two people walk through the interior of a decommissioned prison, with broken ceiling tiles and debris on the floor — Inside Wagram prison, 2019. Photo by Cadence Wilmoth

Go to Part I: North Carolina’s First Prisons