Although the prisoners had no longer been housed in the former mine galleries by that point, the above-ground facilities were inadequate for the state's need.

[5] Both male and female inmates worked: men as blacksmiths, carpenters, coopers, and tailors and women as domestic workers and cigar-makers.

The prison was built on 44 acres at the edge of Wethersfield Cove and the grounds included the 1774 Solomon Welles House, used as the Warden's residence.

In 1960, nearly 400 prisoners staged a riot that required the assistance of 100 State Police troopers and a company of National Guard riflemen to quell.

Demolition of Wethersfield was completed by 1966, a year before the State Prison in Somers was transferred to the new Department of Correction.