Gold was discovered near Deer Lodge in 1862. Subsequent discoveries in Bannack and Virginia City prompted a gold rush that attracted men and women of both good and bad character. Thievery, lawlessness, and murder prevailed until vigilante groups . . . — — Map (db m127789) HM
Overcrowding reached a critical point by the spring of 1896. The cell capacity of 182 was exceeded by 150 prisoners who were confined in a single log building without cells. The log building was deemed “insecure, unsafe and liable to . . . — — Map (db m127791) HM
The first prison building was constructed on this site in 1870 while Montana was still a territory of the United States. It served as a territorial prison and federal penitentiary. In 1889, when Montana attained statehood, it became the Montana . . . — — Map (db m127793) HM
This administration building was the heart of security and prison operations. Here new prisoners were admitted, inmates received visitors, and departing prisoners were counseled about outside employment. The main floor contained the offices of the . . . — — Map (db m127794) HM
On this site in 1908, George Rock was executed by hanging. A year later, William Hayes met a similar fate. Rock and Hayes killed Deputy Warden John Robinson and severely wounded Warden Frank Conley in an escape attempt.
Conley surprised the . . . — — Map (db m127795) HM
So called for their isolation, the cells located in the towers of this cell house were used to remove troublesome inmates from the rest of the prison population. Inmates assigned to the Siberia cells had committed major rule infractions, or in rare . . . — — Map (db m127796) HM
To ease increasing overcrowded conditions, the 1912 Cell House was constructed, adding two hundred cells to the prison complex. Erected in only eleven months using convict labor, the cell house was a model facility for its day. Each cell had running . . . — — Map (db m127797) HM
On the afternoon of April 16, Jerry Myles and Lee Smart led a band of inmates in a violent riot against prison authorities. Seizing a rifle from the catwalk guard, they took control of the 1912 cell house.
Forcing their way into the . . . — — Map (db m96539) HM
