Montana Department of Institutions records
Content Description
This collection consists of materials created by and relating to the various correctional facilities overseen by the Department of Institutions including Pine Hills Correctional Facility, the State Vocational School for Girls, Swan River Youth Forest Camp, and Montana Women's Correctional Center. These records include financial records, minutes, organizational materials, reports and subject files. Most of the records for Pine Hills and State Vocational School document the day-to-day operations of the facility. The Swan River materials consist of an architectural report and educational brochure, while the Women's Correctional Center materials focus primarily on remodeling on the Warm Springs campus, and planning for a new facility.
Dates
- Creation: 1894-1994
Access Restrictions
Most of the materials in this collection are open for research. Some of the materials within specific series are restricted. See the note at the series level for more information about the specific nature of the restrictions.
Restrictions on Use
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases, permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright holders. For more information, contact the Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives.
Historical Note
The Montana Department of Institutions was formed in 1935 to "restore the physically or mentally disabled, to rehabilitate the violators of law, to sustain the vigor and dignity of the aged, to provide for children in need of temporary protection or correctional counseling, to train children of limited mental capacity to their best potential...and to coordinate and apply the principles of modern institutional administration to the institutions of the state."
The Montana Department of Institutions functioned as the administrator of Montana state institutions providing care and rehabilitation to state residents requiring institutional care including: the Montana Children's Center, the State Soldier's Home (Montana Veterans Home), the State Hospital (Warm Springs State Hospital), the State Training School and Hospital (Boulder River School and Hospital), the State Industrial School for Boys (Pine Hills School), the State Vocational School for Girls (Mountain View School), Montana State Tuberculosis Sanitarium (Galen State Hospital), the State Prison, the Eastmont Training Center, the Division of Mental Hygiene, the Swan River Youth Forest Camp, and the Montana Center for the Aged.
In 1992 the department was renamed the Department of Corrections and Human Services. In 1995 the name became the Department of Corrections. The oversight of the Warm Springs Hospital was transferred to the Department of Public Health and Human Services, while the Department of Corrections retained oversight of the Montana State Prison, Montana Women's Prison, and Pine Hills Correctional Facility.
Extent
4.75 linear feet
2 Volumes
27 Megabytes
Language of Materials
English
Summary
This collection consists of Montana Department of Institutions records from the Pine Hills Correctional Facility (Miles City), State Vocational School for Girls (Helena), the Swan River Youth Forest Camp, the Women's Correctional Center (Warm Springs), and a digitized scrapbook of newspaper clippings related to Montana Department of Institutions.
Arrangement
The materials in this collection are arranged by the creating office and are divided into five series. Series 1 is further organized into two subseries based on type of record.
Series 1: Pine Hills Correctional Facility, 1894-1994 and undated
Subseries 1: Correspondence, 1908-1964
Subseries 2: Additional Records, 1894-1994 and undated
Series 2: State Vocational School for Girls, 1924-1966 and undated
Series 3: Swan River Youth Forest Camp, 1976 and undated
Series 4: Women's Correctional Center, circa 1981-1991
Series 5: Clippings, 1988-1989
Physical Location
29:7-4; volumes, 120:8-2
Acquisition Information
These were acquired via a series of transfers from the Montana Department of Institutions. More detailed information about individual transfers is available upon request.
- Title
- Guide to the Montana Department of Institutions Records,1894-1994
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by MHS Staff
- Date
- 2004
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latn
- 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