Red Hat Cell Block

This is a former prison housing unit of the Louisiana State Penitentiary in West Feliciana Parish, which, for a time, contained the state's execution chamber and electric chair.

After a 1933 escape attempt, prison authorities constructed a new prisoner cell block, a 1-story, 30-cell building at Camp E. That cell block, which became the most restrictive inmate housing unit in Angola, was colloquially referred to as "Red Hat", after the red paint-coated straw hats that its occupants wore when they worked in the fields.

After a federal court ordered state prison authorities to enact reforms at Angola, Warden C. Murray Henderson phased out Red Hat, and in 1972, Elayn Hunt had it officially closed. Red Hat became a dog kennel. In 1977, Camp J took Red Hat's role as the most restrictive housing unit in Angola. On 2/20/03, the building was listed on the NRHP.