Old Montana Prison History

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2022 Summer Newsletter

Shakespeare in the Park 50th Anniversary: King Lear The Old Montana Prison welcomes Montana Shakespeare in the Parks Friday, July 29th at...

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FACES BEHIND A STONE WALL: MURIEL MURPHY

There are multiple stories about the women inmates who were incarcerated at the Montana State Prison, but very few had happy endings....

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OLD MONTANA PRISON: EARLY BEGINNINGS

Visions of immediate wealth and unlimited riches lured thousands to Montana where, by 1866, the population numbered approximately 28,000....

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OLD MONTANA PRISON: EARLY BEGINNINGS 2

In 1866, citizens of Virginia City petitioned for the release of a convicted criminal. Apparently, the prohibitive expenses of...

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OLD MONTANA PRISON: EARLY BEGINNINGS 3

From the very beginning, it was apparent that the new wing failed to satisfy even minimal expectations. The finished wing entailed...

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OLD MONTANA PRISON: EARLY BEGINNINGS 4

On August 1, 1874, U. S. Marshall Wheeler returned as the Prison's administrator after the operational responsibility was restored to the...

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OLD MONTANA PRISON: EARLY BEGINNINGS 5

During the early 1840s, at a prison in west central New York "a system of prison administration arose that for over a century wielded an...

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OLD MONTANA PRISON: EARLY BEGINNINGS 6

On February 22, 1889, President Grover Cleveland signed into law the Omnibus Bill. This bill or enabling act permitted the Dakotas,...

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OLD MONTANA PRISON: EARLY BEGINNINGS 7

Frank Conley was born on February 28, 1864, the youngest of seven children, at Havre de Grace, Maryland. In 1880, he left Maryland for...