Thomaston jail began,ended with a King

The Maine State Prison at Thomaston started and ended with a King.

Its 10-acre site, known as Limestone Hill, where a quarry had been in operation for many years, was owned by the man who had served as Maine’s first governor, William King. The land sold for $3,000.

The tract also had been owned by Revolutionary War hero Gen. Henry Knox, according to a history by Negley K. Teeters.

Now, 177 years after the prison first opened, it is due to be demolished and bulldozed into the quarry as part of a state corrections system makeover under Gov. Angus King.