Western Kentucky Correctional Complex
American medium-security prison
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Western Kentucky Correctional Complex (WKCC) is a segregated, dual-sex, medium-security prison in Lyon County, Kentucky, near the city of Fredonia. As of October 2019[update], the facility had 693 prisoners (493 men and 200 women).[1]
Overhead view of the WKCC | |
 Interactive map of Western Kentucky Correctional Complex | |
| Location | Lyon County, Kentucky, US |
|---|---|
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | Medium |
| Population | 693 (as of October 2019) |
| Opened | 1968 |
| Former name | Western KY Farm Center |
| Street address | 374 New Bethel Church Rd[1] Fredonia, KY 42411 |
| Website | Official website |
History
The facility was built in 1968 to support the Kentucky State Penitentiary (KSP). In 1977, it became its own separate institution, the Western Kentucky Farm Center (WKFC), a minimum-security prison. When WKFC became Western Kentucky Correctional Complex in 1989, medium-security infrastructure was added. The facility was converted from a men's prison to a women's prison in 2010. Five years later,[1] it was divided into two separate facilities: the current men's prison (WKCC) and a separate women's prison—the 200-bed Ross-Cash Center—due to fewer female prisoners; this change was projected to save US$700,000 (equivalent to about $951,000 in 2025) per year[2] and only require 90 days of work to accomplish. Ross-Cash was named for two Kentucky Department of Corrections staff members killed in the 1980s, Patricia Ross (died 1984 at KSP) and Fred Cash (died 1986 at WKFC).[3]
WKCC and Ross-Cash reunited under the WKCC name in 2016, and as of October 2019[update], was the "only state-level co-ed facility in Kentucky." Sixty-four percent of prisoners were white while the other thirty-six percent were black. Annual imprisonment cost $23,425.70 (equivalent to $29,499 in 2025) per person, while WKCC had an operating budget of $10.7 million (equivalent to approximately $13.5M in 2025).[1]