Union Correctional Institution
The Union Correctional Institution, formerly referred to as Florida State Prison, Raiford Prison and State Prison Farm is a Florida Department of Corrections state prison located in unincorporated Union County, Florida,[1] near Raiford.[2]
Location
First opened in 1913, the prison expanded and restructured many times. The State Prison Farm was one of the last prisons in the United States to abolish the practice of convict leasing in 1923.[3] In 1955 the first buildings of the East Unit were established, across the Bradford County line to the south. In July 1972, the East Unit became the new Florida State Prison, and the old prison was redesignated as the Union Correctional Institution.
As of 2016, Union remains one of the largest prisons in the Florida system. It houses a maximum capacity of 2,172 adult male prisoners at a range of security levels (Maximum, Close, Medium, Minimum, and Community).