Existing structures that were built with convict labor under Conley include the wall, the 1912 Cell House, the Maximum Security Building, and the W.A. Clark Theater.

By contracting inmates for construction projects throughout the state, Conley provided income to run the prison and alleviated the overcrowded conditions by housing inmates at the job sites.

Prison crews built 500 miles of road at Flathead Lake, MacDonald Pass, most of the roads around Deer Lodge, and roads in various other counties throughout the state.

Inmates built eleven buildings at Warm Springs (Montana State Hospital) and four buildings at Galen (Montana Tuberculosis Sanitarium).

Conley leased or owned eleven ranches, which were operated by inmates. He also provided inmates to local farms and ranches. In 1916, 50% of the inmates worked and lived outside the walls of the prison.