Crime, Prisons: United States. New Hampshire. Keene. Cheshire County Jail: New Hampshire States Charitable and Correctional Institutions: Cheshire County Jail. Keene, New Hampshire.: Cheshire County Jail - Keene New Hampshire. c. 1900

Editor: This photograph by W.G. Freeman depicts the Cheshire County Jail in Keene, New Hampshire. It's stark and imposing. What symbols jump out at you? Curator: Note the architectural details—the tower, the arched windows, the overall symmetry. These borrow heavily from civic architecture meant to project authority. What does this borrowing suggest to you about society's relationship to crime and punishment at the time? Editor: It suggests that prisons were intended to be seen as an extension of societal power and justice. Curator: Precisely. Consider the trees lining the building, like sentinels—a visual reinforcement of confinement, or even guardianship. It speaks volumes about cultural attitudes embedded within this institution. Editor: That's a chilling but insightful connection I hadn’t considered. Thanks!