Folsom Prison Museum, Represa

About Folsom Prison Museum

The Big House Prison Museum at Folsom State Prison chronicles the facility's history through exhibits and artifacts. Visitors explore photographs documenting prison life and view memorabilia from Johnny Cash's famed concert performances at the prison. The museum displays old hemp ropes historically used at the facility, a hand-cranked Gatling gun, and numerous inmate-manufactured weapons. A centerpiece of the collection is an eight-foot motorized Ferris wheel constructed by a prisoner in the 1930s from approximately a quarter million toothpicks. Exhibits explain how the prison was built from gray granite quarried from surrounding rock formations. The museum also documents the history of Folsom State Prison itself and the correctional officers who worked there. Located in Represa, California, the museum serves as an education center focused on corrections history and the people connected to correctional facilities.