Former Confederate States brigadier general and Eddyville native Hylan Benton Lyon was the moving force behind the Kentucky State Branch Penitentiary being located in what is now Old Eddyville. A hill overlooking the Cumberland River was chosen as the site for the new prison. Construction of the Kentucky State Branch Penitentiary began in 1884, using massive granite blocks quarried from a site down the Cumberland. Italian stonemasons were recruited to erect the original buildings, which resemble medieval castles. The prison officially opened in 1889. It was the second prison built in the state, the first being the Kentucky State Prison in Frankfort, which was opened in 1798. When the Kentucky State Penitentiary was built, the Kentucky State Prison was renamed the Kentucky State Reformatory