Montana State Prison records
Scope and Contents
This collection is a subgroup (State Institution) of the Montana Department of Corrections records. The Montana State Prison currently operates within the Montana Department of Corrections. Please see the primary finding aid for more Montana Department of Corrections records. This collection consists of records of the Montana State Prison (1869-1974), the Board of Pardons (1890-1965), the Board of Prison Commissioners (1890-1962), and the United States Penitentiary, Montana Territory, including materials such as prisoner description sheets, prisoner receipt and discharge registers, minutes, reports, etc.
This collection is divided into four subgroups: Montana State Prison Records (1881-1974); Board of State Prison Commissioners Records (1890-1962); State Board of Pardons Records (1890-1965); and the United States Penitentiary, Montana Territory Records (1864-1878).
The records of the Montana State Prison are divided into five series. The general correspondence (1891-1916) contains letters between Frank Conley and Thomas McTague and the governor, the clerk of the Board of Examiners, and two suppliers to the prison. The outgoing correspondence (1909-1921) of Conley and McTague pertains to inmates (paroles, pardons, behavior, time served, restoration to citizenship, escapes, work camps, sale of goods produced by prisoners, etc.), supplies, prison employment, penology, personal business of Conley and McTague, etc. The financial records (1893-1963) include cash books, general ledgers, journals, prisoner accounts with Deer Lodge and prison stores, voucher registers, etc. The bulk of the prisoner records (1881-1974) consists of prison description sheets which include each prisoners' vital statistics, and information about the crime committed, the sentence received, and a list of past crimes. The prisoner records also include lists of a conduct record; criminal charges against former Montana State Prison inmates; lists of prisoners received and discharged; a medical treatment record; lists of prisoners who were pardoned, paroled, and received suspended sentences, diminished sentences, and restoration of citizenship; and prison population statements.
The records of the State Board of Pardons include minutes (1880-1926), prisoner records (1892-1922), and miscellany (1963, 1965). The minutes are primarily approvals of paroles. The prisoner records are correspondence and documents relating to specific prisoners' pardons.
The records of the Board of State Prison Commissioners are divided into seven series. The general correspondence (1905-1929) consists of correspondence of the clerk of the Board. The hearings series (1957) consists of a transcript of a hearing concerning an investigation of conditions at the prison. The legal documents (1907, 1927) consist of an agreement for the purchase of cement and an easement granted to a railroad. The minutes (1890-1962) primarily concern the approval of paroles, the discharge of prisoners, the termination of sentences, return of prisoners for violation of parole, transfer of prisoners to the State Hospital for the Insane, etc. For some years (1910-1927,1949-1954) there is a separate run of minutes that deals exclusively with paroles. There is some discussion of procedures, investigations, etc. The prisoner records (1913-1955) consist of suspended sentence orders. The reports series (1960) consists of a report by the Prison Advisory Board concerning prison industries. The miscellany series (1959, undated) includes blank forms, procedural guidelines, and interviews with prisoners relating to the approval of "good time".
The Records of the United States Penitentiary, Montana Territory, are divided into six series. The general correspondence series (1875) consists of correspondence sent by W. F. Wheeler concerning housing prisoners. The incoming correspondence series (1874-1876) consists of correspondence received by W. F. Wheeler concerning housing prisoners and leasing space in court rooms. The financial records series (1886-1889) consists of an expense journal kept R. S. Kelley. The legal documents series consists of leases, memoranda of agreement and miscellany concerning housing prisoners, operating the prison and construction of the prison. The reports series (1873, undated) consists of reports of the Directors, the Physician, the Warden, and the U.S. Grand Jury. The miscellany series (1868-1878) consists of documents regarding the construction of the prison, inventories and rules and regulations. Restriction: Prisoner description sheets are restricted from public use due to their fragility. An archivist can search these sheets and provide the researcher with a receival date at the prison. This date will allow the researcher to find the prisoner description sheet on State Microfilm 36, where the description sheets are arranged by date received at the prison. Researchers are advised to provide the archivist with all possible variations of the prisoner's name.
Dates
- Creation: 1864-1974
Language of Materials
English
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Use of the prisoner description sheets is restricted due to their fragile condition. An archivist can search these sheets and provide the researcher with a receival date at the prison. This date will allow the researcher to find the prisoner description sheet on State Microfilm 36, where the description sheets are arranged by date received at the prison. Researchers are advised to provide the archivist with all possible variations of the prisoner's name.
Conditions Governing Use
The Montana Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library before any reproduction use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
Biographical / Historical
In 1866, Representative John N. Rodgers introduced HB Memorial 7, which sought federal funds for a territorial penitentiary in Montana. In January 1867, funding was approved and the penitentiary opened in Deer Lodge in July 1871. It was relinquished to Montana Territory in 1873 and taken over by the federal government once again in 1874. In 1889, the penitentiary became a state institution, the Montana State Prison, when Montana achieved statehood.
The state contracted with former prison guard Frank Conley and Colonel Thomas McTague to operate the penitentiary from 1890 to 1908, with Conley as warden. In 1909, the state hired Conley as warden, a position he held until 1921. Conley instituted an extensive trusty program in which many prisoners worked outside the prison walls. Prison work crews built roads in western Montana and constructed buildings at the Montana State Hospital for the Insane and the Montana State Tuberculosis Sanitarium, as well as making many improvements to the prison itself. In 1921, Governor Joseph Dixon initiated an investigation of Conley's alleged use of state monies for personal gain; this investigation led to Conley's dismissal.
During the Great Depression, state appropriations for the prison decreased, while the facility itself continued to deteriorate – especially the originally constructed 1896 cellblock. Prison conditions also continued to deteriorate. The prison had no indoor plumbing, poor electrical wiring, an outdated library, and inmates were often forced to remain idle in their cells for the majority of the day.
Faye O. Burrell was warden of the prison from 1953 to 1958. During this time, although appropriated thousands of dollars to improve the prison, Burrell spent very little of this money. The legislature appropriated $105,000 for a new minimum security building; Burrell spent approximately $125 of those dollars of the project. During this time, prison population swelled to over 600, well above the previous average of 543 inmates. According to a visiting official, Montana State Prison suffered from “the lowest employee morale he had ever encountered in a penal institution.” Prison guard salaries were also amongst the lowest in the nation, and very little training was offered to staff.
In 1957, an investigation of prison conditions conducted by Kenyon J. Scudder reported appalling and potentially explosive conditions at the prison. In July 1957, some prisoners took guards hostage and made several demands, including better food, better hospitalization, abolishing the “silence system” at meals, better lighting in cells, yard privileges, and a federal investigation of the prison as a whole. Following this, Governor Aronson agreed to hire a professional warden, and in the fall of 1957 the state hired Floyd Powell as warden and Theodore Rothe as deputy warden. Powell and Rothe worked to implement changes, such as education programs, a prison classification system (to separate inmates with different degrees of crime committed), increased quality and quantity of prison food, and better recreation.
In 1959, inmates Jerry Myles, Lee Smart, and George Alton, attempted to escape the prison. In their attempt, Rothe was killed and Powell was taken hostage. While they planned to kill Powell, another prisoner, Walter Trotchie, – tasked as executioner of Powell – broke down and let Powell escape via the front gate. Inside, Myles continued to take hostages. Myles also convinced the other inmates that a prison riot could bring about greater change within the prison – though most saw “no pressing need to riot.” (Edgerton, 66) Eventually, most inmates voluntarily returned to their cells. Sensing their escape plan would be a failure, Myles shot Smart in the head, before shooting himself. This riot brought prison reform to the spotlight, and plans for a new facility were drawn up in the mid-1960s. In 1963, the prison was made part of the Department of Institutions. A new prison was constructed in 1979 outside of Deer Lodge.
As of 2025, the Montana State Prison operates within the Department of Corrections.
Extent
70 linear feet
Abstract
This collection is a subgroup (State Institution) of the Montana Department of Corrections records. The Montana State Prison currently operates within the Montana Department of Corrections. Please see the primary finding aid for more Montana Department of Corrections records. This collection consists of records of the Montana State Prison (1869-1974), the Board of Pardons (1890-1965), the Board of Prison Commissioners (1890-1962), and the United States Penitentiary, Montana Territory, including materials such as prisoner description sheets, prisoner receipt and discharge registers, minutes, reports, etc.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged by subgourp and then by series.
Physical Location
59:1-1
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Acquisition information available upon request.
Processing Information
Processed in 2007
- Title
- Guide to the Montana State Prison records 1869-1974
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by MHS staff.
- Date
- 2007
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Based On Dacs (Describing Archives: A Content Standard, 2nd Edition)
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Repository Details
Part of the Montana Historical Society, Research Center Archives Repository
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT 59620-1201 United States
406-444-2681
406-444-2696 (Fax)
mhslibrary@mt.gov