Western Montana

Creepy, yes. Scary, slightly. Worth the stop, you bet! I had been to the Old Montana Prison in Deer Lodge about 20 years ago and I still have vivid memories about it. My mom and I were totally spooked as we walked down the cellblock and would not even step foot into the “hole”. On my recent trip to the prison I found things a little bit different. First of all I was not clinging to my mom this time and second I found the entire site fascinating, so my fear had diminshed.

We pulled into Deer Lodge and I had forgotten that the prison was right there, right on main street. It was sort of strange to see the prison on a main street, but it was conveniently located , so I was not going to complain. We parked in their lot next to the classic car museum and walked into the gift shop to purchase our tickets for the self-guided tour. I prefer self-guided tours as you usually have enough time to check out what you want and can move by what you are less interested in since you are not with a group. Once we had gotten our tickets, we were also handed a visitor’s guide and a pamphlet with additional information for the tour. The self-guided tour pamphlet was not only a helpful tool to lead us around the prison, but also a wealth of information. The tour had numbered informational signs all around the site with additional information found in the pamphlet. I loved the directions the pamphlet gave you as they were very precise and it would be hard to miss a thing if you followed them.

As we walked around the prison, originally built in 1861, we learned that the building was, with much controversy, built by inmates. The 12 foot wall was made of wood originally and was later replaced in 1893 by the convicts with a 24 foot tall, 3 feet thick wall made of sandstone. We moved along the tour and found other points of interest which led us to the Administration building. Inside we found the visiting room, secretarial offices, where convicts would speak with social services, the chaplain, job placement or the psychologist, which ironically we met one of the psychologists from the prison as we were touring another museum across the street from the prison. Another fascinating exhibit was the contraband collection. Shanks, tattoo machines and knives, all taken from the prisoners. Although it was not contraband, it was included in the display and was my personal favorite, shoes with 20 lb weights in them, to prevent inmates from escaping.

Our tour took us to West Siberia, a corner at the north end of the cell house, was a location to place difficult prisoners. We took a peek in their cells before we moved on to the prison life exhibit, which gave us an idea of what the inmates did while they were incarcerated. Along the backside of the cellhouse we found some damage from a bazooka shot by the National Guard during the 1959 riot. Our tour took us back to the Cell House where we entered into the building finding rows and rows of cells. We walked around, finding a spot called “fish row”, a caged in walkway in front of the cells to help adjust new convicts, or fish as they are called, to prison life. We explored more of the building and found the infamous “hole”, a cell with only a peephole of light. The hole was used for discipline and inmates were only allowed water and bread while they stayed a maximum of 10 days in the hole. The hole was definitely a memory from my childhood visit to this prison and it still had an eerie spirit about it.

After we finished our tour of the cell house we crossed over the yard and found the men’s maximum security and women’s prison. In 1959 it was decided that the men and women’s facilities needed to be separated and the women were moved across the street, in what is now the Powell County Museum. We continued around the yard and found the W.A. Clark Theater which had gallows located in the center of the room. It was an interesting site to see, however not up close as you were not allowed to enter the building.

Our tour was complete in under two hours and with the amount of information given and what we learned was well worth the $9 admission fee, which also gained us access into a few other museums across the street from the prison. If you would like to go on the Old Montana Prison tour they are located at 1106 Main Street in Deer Lodge. They are open 7 days a week from 8am to 6pm.