Old Newgate Prison, located below Peak Mountain, was originally a copper mine, opened in 1705. After mining operations proved unprofitable, the colony of Connecticut converted it to a prison and named it after Newgate Prison of London. The first prisoner, John Hinson, was committed for burglary in 1773. Later Tories and Loyalists were held there during the Revolutionary War. In 1790 it became a state prison, the first such in the United States. After the prison closed in 1827 mining operations resumed for a time, but since the 1860s it has been mainly a tourist attraction. In 1972 Old Newgate Prison was declared a National Historic Landmark.