Craggy Correctional Institution
Mailing Address: 2992 Riverside Drive, Asheville, NC 28804
Street Address: 22 Canoe Lane, Asheville, NC 28804
Phone: 828-645-5315
Minimum Unit Phone: 828-645-7630
County: Buncombe
Offender capacity: Medium Custody Facility, 416; Minimum Custody Facility, 182
Facility Type: Male - Medium and Minimum custody
Craggy Correctional Institution houses adult males in medium and minimum custody.
Inmates may participate in the A New Direction substance abuse treatment program as well as individual counseling. Inmates work with professional staff and peer counselors.. Asheville/Buncombe Technical Community College provides vocational classes in Food Service Technology and Facility Maintenance. Classes for adult education and preparation for the GED are also available. Both the medium and minimum custody units hold services and religious programs in their chapels. Correction Enterprises operates the Craggy Laundry nearby, where inmates may work.
Programs and Activities
Correction Enterprises
- Commercial Laundry
Education
- Adult Basic Education / GED
- Commercial/residential maintenance
- Computer Applications
- Employment Readiness
Work programs
- Food services
- Janitorial services
- Barbers
- Clerks
- Canteen operators
- Laundry/clothes house
Religious activities
- Group studies
- Worship services
Craggy Correctional Institution, located near Asheville, is a medium/minimum security prison for adult males. In March 2014, it consolidated with Buncombe Correctional Center to house adult males in medium and minimum custody.
The prison has three dormitories and seven support buildings. Craggy was the first state prison to install an electronic intrusion system security fence to alert staff of attempted perimeter breaches or escapes.
Chapels at both the medium and minimum custody units were built with funds from churches and the community. The chapel at the minimum custody unit was dedicated in 2015 and named the New Life Center.
Inmates may participate in the A New Direction Program, formerly known as the Drug Alcohol Recovery Treatment (DART) program. AND is an intensive inpatient treatment in a fast-moving 28-day treatment cycle with lectures, films, educational and therapy groups, as well as individual counseling. Inmates work with professional staff and peer counselors. AND relies heavily on the principles of Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous with group meetings available in the evenings.
Asheville/Buncombe Technical Community College works with the prison to provide vocational classes in Food Service Technology and Facility Maintenance. Classes for adult education and preparation for the GED are also available.
Still operating at the old prison site is a Correction Enterprises laundry. Other inmate medium-custody assignments include Department of Transportation road crews, facility maintenance, janitorial, groundskeeping and food service positions.
The Old Craggy Prison was dedicated in May 1924 by the Buncombe County Commissioners. Craggy was one of 51 county prisons that the state assumed responsibility for with the passage of the Conner Bill in 1931. It was one of 61 prisons renovated or built during the late 1930s to house inmates who worked building roads.