The Castle
October 5th, 2006 by Jim Homet
Seavey Island on the Piscataqua river houses one of the largest structures in the seacoast area. The building is actually a former U.S. Naval Prison with some pretty cool history. The prison was commissioned in 1908, and by the time it was decommissioned in 1974 over 86,000 naval inmates had served time there.
The prison is often referred to as “The Castle” by locals for its obvious architectural merits. In fact, a lot of folks who are visiting the area mistake it for a grand hotel. The original structure consisted of a central tower with two wings. It held a maximum of 2300 prisoners in the early 1920s. With the outbreak of World War II more space was required, and an eight story building was erected which was quickly dubbed “the Fortress”.
The prison was also known as “Portsmouth University” by local folk who were evidently disgruntled at the educational and job training opportunities afforded the inmates. In 1917, command of the prison was given to Lt. Commander Thomas Osborne who had a very progressive viewpoint on the treatment and rehabilitation of prisoners. His policies were the forerunners of many of our current procedures in dealing with prisoners which showed an appreciation of the importance of psychological procedures in dealing with prisoners and put an emphasis on rehabilitation back into active service.
The prison is famous for another reason as well – in late 1918, a prison escort guard was assigned to accompany a prisoner from Boston to the Castle for internment. Along the way, the prisoner attempted escape by hitting the guard across the face with his shackled hands. The convict was quickly brought under control, but the guard, Humphrey Bogart, was left with massive facial injuries that left a scar across his lip for the rest of his life and caused the trademark lisp in his speech.
The Castle is currently in mothballs. It is available for long term lease from the Navy Department for development. Hopefully it will retain its character.
At left: USNavy prison guard Humphrey Bogart posing in front of the Castle in 1918.