Front view of the No. 9 identification clamp, with raised numeral and two slotted screws.

Angled full view of the No. 9 identification clamp, showing its depth and layered construction.

Underside detail of the No. 9 identification clamp showing two circular mounting holes.

Close detail of the raised numeral 9 and slotted screw heads on the identification clamp.

Close detail of a corroded slotted screw set into the painted metal face of the No. 9 identification clamp.

Detail of worn painted metal, rust, scuffs, and surface wear on the No. 9 identification clamp.

Reverse or interior detail of the No. 9 identification clamp showing its dark metal surface.

No. 9 Cast-Iron Institutional Hardware, Attributed to Windsor State Prison

$185.00

At 65 State Street in Windsor, Vermont, the original Vermont State Prison opened in 1809 and grew through major expansions in 1830, 1882, and 1928. By the time the original prison closed in 1975, it contained 352 cells and was described as the oldest state prison in continuous operation in the United States.

This heavy cast-iron component is marked with a raised “9” and is accompanied by an identification tag attributing it to Windsor State Prison and dating it to the late nineteenth century. Its construction is far more substantial than a simple door number: the body is deeply cast and hollowed within, with slotted screws, internal channels, and dedicated bolt spaces designed to fasten it to iron bars or a related barred assembly.

That construction makes an ordinary cell-door number plate unlikely. The strongest reading is that it formed part of a larger cell-block identification system.

Although its exact original function remains unconfirmed, what survives is the material logic of confinement: weight, old paint, corrosion, engineered openings, and a number used to impose order within a larger controlled environment.

Date: Late 19th century, as identified on accompanying tag

Attribution: Windsor State Prison, Windsor, Vermont, as identified on accompanying tag

Material: Cast iron with remnants of painted surface

Dimensions: 6.5 in. long × 3.25 in. high × 1.75 in. deep

Weight: 2,035 g / 4.48 lbs

Marking: Raised numeral “9”

Form: Likely cell-block, barred-partition, gate, or locking hardware; exact original function unknown

Condition: Wear, rust, scuffs, paint loss, and surface irregularity are consistent with age and use. The interior and edges show dark metal and corrosion. Please review all photographs closely for construction, mounting points, and surface condition.

At 65 State Street in Windsor, Vermont, the original Vermont State Prison opened in 1809 and grew through major expansions in 1830, 1882, and 1928. By the time the original prison closed in 1975, it contained 352 cells and was described as the oldest state prison in continuous operation in the United States.

This heavy cast-iron component is marked with a raised “9” and is accompanied by an identification tag attributing it to Windsor State Prison and dating it to the late nineteenth century. Its construction is far more substantial than a simple door number: the body is deeply cast and hollowed within, with slotted screws, internal channels, and dedicated bolt spaces designed to fasten it to iron bars or a related barred assembly.

That construction makes an ordinary cell-door number plate unlikely. The strongest reading is that it formed part of a larger cell-block identification system.

Although its exact original function remains unconfirmed, what survives is the material logic of confinement: weight, old paint, corrosion, engineered openings, and a number used to impose order within a larger controlled environment.

Date: Late 19th century, as identified on accompanying tag

Attribution: Windsor State Prison, Windsor, Vermont, as identified on accompanying tag

Material: Cast iron with remnants of painted surface

Dimensions: 6.5 in. long × 3.25 in. high × 1.75 in. deep

Weight: 2,035 g / 4.48 lbs

Marking: Raised numeral “9”

Form: Likely cell-block, barred-partition, gate, or locking hardware; exact original function unknown

Condition: Wear, rust, scuffs, paint loss, and surface irregularity are consistent with age and use. The interior and edges show dark metal and corrosion. Please review all photographs closely for construction, mounting points, and surface condition.

The original Vermont State Prison stood at 65 State Street in Windsor, Vermont. Opened in 1809, it was enlarged in 1830, 1882, and 1928, eventually reaching 352 cells. When the original State Street prison closed in 1975, it was described as the oldest state prison in continuous operation in the United States.
The accompanying identification tag links this object to that institution and dates it to the late nineteenth century. The documented 1882 expansion falls within that period, but no evidence currently connects this particular component to that specific building campaign, cell block, or location within the prison.
Among the prison’s later documented inmates was Mary Rogers, held there in 1905 before her execution for the murder of her husband. Her case has no direct connection to this object, but it gives a sense of the institution’s long and difficult history.
The object is a heavy, two-piece hollow casting designed around three bars. It retains internal channels, slotted screws, mounting points, and dedicated bolt spaces for fastening it to iron bars or a related barred assembly.
This construction is unlike a thin, flat marker intended simply to identify an individual cell door. It is more plausibly understood as a numbered component within a larger cell-block, gate, partition, or locking system.
The numeral “9” may therefore have identified a block, tier, gate, section, or component position rather than a single cell. Its exact original use remains unconfirmed, but the construction strongly supports an architectural or security role within a larger institutional assembly.