The prison opened in 1853. The first warden was Francis R. Delano, who had been involved in its construction through the Jesse Taylor Company. The facility instituted a prison library under his leadership, and by 1858 had a physician and chaplain on staff. In 1859 the prison began leasing penal labor, providing private businesses with property on site and convict workers. Classic black-and-white-striped prison uniforms were adopted in 1860, and the reduction of sentences for good conduct time in 1862. An inmate-published newspaper, "The Prison Mirror", launched in 1887. Relocated to the Minnesota Correctional Facility – Stillwater, "The Prison Mirror" is the oldest prison newspaper continuously printed in the United States.