Jackson Historic Prison Tours — Attraction in Jackson

I did the Jacktown double tour with owner/guide Jim.

The tour was great. It was nice to see the contrast between the original state prison, and the more modern facility that now serves as the state prison.

Jim has done a good job at immersing himself in the history and he was not stumped by any questions. He also had lots of great stories to go along with the tour.

I was fortunate enough to be with a small group, and with only eight of us, he was able to personally interact with everyone on the tour.

It’s too bad cameras or phones are not allowed within the active prison as there are some great photo ops. ( prison policy, not tour policy.) You can always just find them online.

There is a little bit of walking, and several stairs on the tour. I’m not sure I would recommend it for very young children, or people who have severe mobility issues.

Even if you have kids or people that have a hard time getting around, they do have the option of skipping parts.

This is a tour I would consider doing again when my travels bring me...

I cannot express how much gratitude & appreciation we had for Jim, our tour guide, last Saturday, at the Historic Prison Tour in Jackson, MI. I took my 11-yr. old dgtr. with me & we both walked away with soooooo much knowledge from this very educational tour. PHENOMENAL 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻. We both found Jim to be a very interesting & knowledgeable historian. The building is very unique and it’s quite telling of what these inmates had to live through. The basement was a little eerie, but again, to see what it was like back then to be an inmate in Jackson State Prison was a sight to see. The murals on the main floor, really do give the building life. My daughter said afterwards “that was the coolest tour, Mom. We have to go back & take Dad soon!” Highly, highly recommend making a stop in Jackson, MI & checking out the Historic Prison Tours. If Jim is the tour guide, you will have an EXCELLENT experience ❤️. Thanks...

There is so much history within the walls of the historic Jackson Prison. The tour guy, Steve, was very knowledgeable and friendly. I learned so much about the planning, structure, staff, and inmates. Unfortunately, much of the structure has been lost to time. One structure was recently taken by fire. The mess hall started to crumble and was taken down. Access to an old cell block has been denied since Covid. That is most unfortunate for the tour. There are beautiful murals depicting the rich history along the tour. It was nice to have a small gift shop there as well. All in all, it's a go. I would like the decision makers to reopen...