The Brushy Mountain Correctional Complex is the state’s oldest prison at 113 years. It is closing Thursday because it’s become too expensive to upgrade and maintain. (AP Photo/Wade Payne) ...

Where: Brushy Mountain State Prison is located in the mountains of Petros, Tenn., about 2 hours and 45 minutes from Nashville and 50 minutes from Knoxville. Admission : Self-guided tours are $15 ...

The historic Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Morgan County used to be the place nobody wanted to go. Serving time in Brushy meant you were a violent criminal — likely the worst of the ...

The first thing you notice about Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary is the bone-chilling cold of the place. The proprietors of the century-old prison, in recent years a tourist attraction in a ...

What was once Tennessee’s most infamous prison that included inmates such as James Earl Ray, killer of Martin Luther King, and Byron “Low Tax” Looper, assassin of State Senator Tommy Burks ...

Historic Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary concert series is an annual gathering of top caliber artists performing on the grounds of the historic property in Petros, TN. The mountain venue ...

Brushy Mountain State Prison (Courtesy: Tennessee State Library and Archives) Brushy Mountain State Prison was known as the last stop for the worst criminals in Tennesse, and often the last place ...

Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, Tennessee, was transformed into a local distillery called Brushy Mountain. Brushy Mountain uses spring water from nearby Frozen Head State Park ...

The Brushy Mountain Correctional Complex is the state’s oldest prison at 113 years. It is closing Thursday because it’s become too expensive to upgrade and maintain. (AP Photo/Wade Payne) ...

PETROS, Tenn. — When the whistle blew, everyone in Petros, Tennessee, knew it was lunchtime at Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. To the outside world, it was the place that housed James Earl ...