In 1871, the Montana Territorial Prison opened in Deer Lodge. In 1889, Montana became a state which meant that it assumed the responsibility for funding and operating the prison. Inadequate funding and overcrowded conditions continued at the prison. In 1979, the state constructed a new prison and the old facility, which resembled a European castle with its high rock walls and towers, was abandoned. Today the Old Montana Prison is preserved and operated as a museum by the Powell County Museum and Arts Foundation under a lease agreement with the State of Montana. Within the Old Prison Museum are two buildings which housed prisoners: the 1912 Cell House and the 1907 Women’s Prison/Maximum Security. Photographs of these two buildings follow.
Cell House:
To ease overcrowded conditions, the Cell House shown above was constructed in 1912 using convict labor. Each cell had running water, a flush toilet, and good ventilation.
The Hole:
“The hold was reserved for obstreperous inmates after other disciplinary measures proved inadequate. Bread and water were issued twice a day and an inmate was checked on three times a day. There were no lights in the cells, except for the peephole in the doors. The lights outside the cells were turned off except when inmates were checked and issued bread and water. Every three days in, inmates were given a full hot meal.”
The entrance to The Hole is shown above.
Women’s Prison/Maximum Security:
While there had been women inmates in the Montana Prison since 1879, the separate Women’s Prison wasn’t constructed until 1907. This prison had two large dormitory rooms, a kitchen/dining area, a laundry, and matron’s quarters. There were never more than ten women prisoners at any one time. Following the 1959 earthquake, the Women’s Prison was converted into a maximum security unit with 24 high security, disciplinary cells.