FCI Cumberland is a medium-security federal correctional institution for male inmates located in Allegany County near Cumberland, Maryland, in the state's mountainous western panhandle, about 130 miles northwest of Washington, D.C. The facility opened in the mid-1990s as part of a broader federal effort to add prison capacity along the East Coast, and it has operated continuously since, becoming one of the more recognizable federal institutions in the region. Alongside the main medium-security compound, FCI Cumberland includes an adjacent minimum-security satellite camp that houses lower-risk offenders under lighter supervision. One notable feature of the institution is its license plate manufacturing operation, where inmates produce plates used on official federal government vehicles, giving residents a structured work assignment as part of their daily routine. Over the years the prison has held a number of well-known individuals, which has occasionally put Cumberland in the national news, though day-to-day life there centers on the more ordinary rhythms of federal incarceration. For families, Cumberland's location in rural western Maryland means it draws visitors from a wide surrounding area, and the institution has become a steady presence and employer in a part of the state that doesn't have many other large employers nearby.