The Maine State Prison stood in Thomaston from 1824 until it was razed in 2002. Its original building was a wood structure for the guards and warden, while the prisoners' cells were below ground level and exposed to the elements. At night, prisoners were lowered into the deep cells, and the opening was covered with a heavy grate until they were allowed out to work in the quarry the following day. Wooden barracks with cells eventually replaced this deplorable housing. In 1923, a fire led to the construction of a third building made of brick. By the turn of the twenty-first century, the building was quite antiquated, so a new facility was built in the neighboring town of Warren. The prisoners were moved there in February 2002, and the prison was demolished in April of that year.