The Old Montana Prison

July '07 we took a trip to Spokane Washington to

visit family & friends. Along the way we stopped

at the prison to do some sightseeing.

Walking up to the outside...hmm, can't imagine 

what's on the other side of those walls...

The Old Montana Prison began construction in the

spring of 1870 and had its first prisoner July 2nd 1871.

Frank Conley (the Warden) felt the prisoners should

work, so in 1893 he had them 

replace the 12 ft. wood fence with sandstone that was

4 1/2 ft. thick and went around the entire perimeter.

The execution of George Rock and a year later William Hayes.

Guess you shouldn't piss off the Warden...

The weapons of choice... o.k maybe they didn't 

have a choice on the dentist chair!

Weighted shoes so they couldn't run fast & far...

Actual clothing the prisoners wore...

Walking through the main hall was so sterile and cold.

What a life!!!

This is the HOLE!!!

Yes it was dark like a dungeon...

This is the back hallway where the guards would move from one section to another 

without having contact with the prisoners.

This is the hole where the guards would keep watch on the prisoners

while they watched movies.  Can you believe they had a theater in the prison???

Cell #1 belong to Paul "Turkey Pete" Eitner.

Convicted of murder, he spent the remaining days of his life 

behing bars.  He was 89 when he finally passed in 1967 and was 

the only inmate to have a funeral in the prison.

After his death, his cell was retired!