HomeMy Public PortalAboutIdaho State PrisonPAGE 12 THE IDAHO STATESMAN, Boise, Monday, March 1, 1976
L. A rope ladder got Lyda Southard over the wall of the women's ward, right
1876
In The
Statesman
By ARTHUR A. HART
Director,
Idaho Historical Society
Idaho had all but forgotten v
Lyda Southard, "the female
Bluebeard," when she made
her dramatic escape from t
the Women's Ward of the old t
Idaho Penitentiary on May 4,
1931. She had served nearly
10 years of a 10 -to -life sen-
tence for the second - degree
murder by poisoning of her
fourth husband at Twin
Falls in 1920.
Although never tried for
other crimes, Lyda was also
suspected of poisoning her
first three husbands and a
brother -in -law. Wide publica.
tion of the facts of these ear-
lier deaths, brought out in
her trial, probably had a lot
to do with the general public
satisfaction when she was
convicted and sent to Boise
to serve her sentence.
After 15 months of free-
dom, Lyda was arrested in
Topeka, Kan., when she
went to the post office to
claim a letter from a sixth
husband she had acquired
soon after her escape. The
whole story of this escape
was soon revealed:
In October, 1930, convict
David C. Minto had gone
over the wall of the Wom-
en's Ward with a ladder. He
carried hacksaw blades and
an offer to help Lyda escape.
e He also apparently con-
e vinced her that she had no
chance of a parole and that
n escape was the only way
out. In November he came
e again, this time with a rope
ladder and more details of
o the escape plan.
Looking ahead to his own
elease a few months away,
Minto promised Lyda that he
vould have a car ready on
Warm Springs Road when
she went over the wall, and
hat he would get her out of
the state.
Questioned about how a
male convict could get into
the Women's Ward, recap-
tured Lyda revealed, "The
trusties carried pass keys
and they were in our ward
several times and had ac-
cess to everyone. The offi-
cers did not know they had
the pass keys."
She also insisted, however,
that there was never any ro-
mance between herself and
Minton. By the time of the
escape, May 4, 1931, she had
sawed the bar on her cell
just about through and had
the ladder hidden where it
could be quickly pulled out.
A pipe for anchoring it on
the inside of the wall had
been driven into the ground
long before, but had not
been noticed by guards. It
was quite rusty when discov-
ered.
When she went over the
wall at about 9 p.m. it was
pitch dark. She walked to
Minton's waiting car. They
drove downtown to get gaso-
line and headed east on
Highway 30 to Mountain
Home. Somehow no road-
block stopped them, even
though the alarm was given
when they were still on
Warm Springs Avenue head-
ed into town.
Lyda Southard was not pa.
roled for another 10 years,
and not finally pardoned un-
til 1943. Reporters still de-
scribed her as "auburn -hair-
ed and comely" and noted
that she wore a "well- fitted
green dress," when she
passed out of the old stone
walls for the last time. She
granted no interviews.
LOGAN'S ART GALLERY
— Mr. W. H. Logan has re-
cently arrived from the East
and established an Art Gal-
lery on Idaho street, adjoin-
ing Dr. Arnold's Dental of-
fice and promises better
work than has ever been
seen in our Territory. We
have examined some of his
pictures and pronounce his
work handsomely executed.
He makes a specialty of en-
larging pictures, such as old
Ambrotypes, Pherrotypes
and Photographs. Besides
this he is doing his superior
work at remarkable low
prices.
MR. A. WOLTERS, super-
intendent of the assay office,
returned on Thursday last
from a professional tour to
South Mountain, Silver City
and Wagontown. His orders
are to make a trip to the dif-
ferent mining camps and es-
pecially to the newly discov-
ered mines, and report to
the superintendent of th
mint, the charac ter of th
lodes, the manner of work-
ing, amount of bullion take
out, etc. He says it was im
possible to ascertain th
amount of bullion produce d
in these camps. e has n
doubt but they have somi
good mines in Wagontown
but some of the reported dis
coveries are failures. It i
quite dull in Silver City am
only one mill is running. Th
ore produced from the mine
in that camp is very limite
this year. Prospects for
good year at Silver are unf:
vorable. In South Mountai
he was surprised to find
large a town. Business tool
very lively. They pay o
hands and expens,
promptly every month.
1
SECTION D BOISE, IDAHO, THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 1974
PAGE 1■
HISTORY PRESERVED — Two employes with tentiary for public tours by the middle of Septem-
the state Building Services Division put their ber. Ralph Pulver, left, 301 Bills, and Mike Rom
green thumbs to work readying the old State Peni- ick, 419 South Fourteenth, are two of about 10
workers preparing the grounds for public use.
Project opens in September
By ROD SANDEEN
Statesman Staff Writer
Recycling the old Idaho State Peni-
tentiary into a "new existence" will be-
gin about the middle of September
when the stark stone buildings open for
public tours.
The guided tours will be one step in
the renovation of the 105- year -old pris-
on and its 330 acres into a recreation
and commercial development, Arthur
A. Hart, director of the Idaho Histori-
cal Museum, said Wednesday. The ter-
ritorial prison, built by prisoners with
native sandstone from the Boise Front,
was closed last December when the
new penitentiary south of Gowen Field
opened.
Visitors to The Old Penitentiary, the
proposed name of the project, will be
given a "historical interpretation" of
the prison. Hart said a slide show and a
browse through a museum at the site
will precede the tours, to be conducted
frequently by guides who are being
trained.
"There's a tremendous amount of
work to be done," Hart said. "I doubt if
it will all be ready by the time we
open."
Electronic "tour guides" will assist
tourists at the prison. Hart said 'six
electronic boxes will respond at the
touch of a button, describing and inter-
preting a nearby attraction.
Hart said it will be his voice antici-
pating questions about the gallows,
death row, solitary confinement and
other curious features.
Gardeners, carpenters, painters and
plumbers are sprucing up the grounds.
Hart said the most of the plumbing had
been disconnected and routine mainte-
nance had been neglected.
"We want things to really look nice
when we let people in there," the di-
rector said.
The Historical Society is the adminis-
trator of a $49,000 federal planning
grant, which, with matching state
funds, will finance development of a
master plan for the sandstone com-
plex.
Hart envisions camping, picnicking,
hiking and swimming in natural hot
springs on the prison land.
Utilizing existing buildings within the
prison walls, Hart said the master plan
probably will call for entertainment,
services, shops and restaurants. He lik-
ened it to Larimer Square in Denver,
Colo., or Pioneer Square in Seattle.
"It's not going to be a Coney Island
type of development. It's going to be
one in good taste," he said.
Specialty shops, like Western cloth-
ing, gift shops, and perhaps a farmer's
market where local produce can be
sold, are possibilities, Hart said.
"We're not trying to keep it grim and
grisly, but a pleasant environment for
dining and shopping," Hart explained.
But he said the prison would keep its
character. "There'll be no big neon
signs or new construction that won't be
compatible."
Private investors will have a chance
to rent space as small as a single cell
or as big as an entire building, Hart
said. One building is large enough for a
small cinema.
"The state will always have own-
ership and control but private investors
will have a chance to make money,
too," he said.
Referring to similar undertakings in
other states, Hart said, "Wherever this
has happened, real estate values have
grown tremendously."
The grant for planning the project
comes from the National Vndowment
for the Arts and is "aimed specifically
at helping communities develop histori-
cal and cultural facilities of a unique
kind."
L
a
:.
�
a
�rv}:xf w
,:: }. }:::::::; # #.::.:.:apS,:%}� xs w..
:::. 0 }x+5,4 ;;; •ncC4:.
::::::.v.n.:::.:4' : }'l: i:4: } }x...:... v -vv: r.:.4n�i�.4i. •.v.'! ?:tip �•?
h r
}.:::.....::..
::.�: n:::: +: �.:.::: LS • }:• }; : ....................... nom;
: },m
*Y
kml
XXXI
Idaho Yesterdays
By ARTHUR A. HART
Director, Idaho Historical
Museum
Compiling a history of the
old Idaho Penitentiary is the
first step in plans to inter-
pret the antique site to the
public.
Reporting with fairness
and objectivity the devel-
opment of the Idaho penal
system, since 1863 when the
Territory was separated
from Washington Territory,
requires the study of thou-
sands of pages of docu-
ments, wardens' reports, old
photographs, and artifacts.
Heavy reliance must be
placed on the biennial re-
ports required by law since
Idaho became a state in 1890.
Not only did the wardens
report on new construction
and physical changes taking
place, but on population, na-
ture of the crimes com-
mitted, food served, and
kinds of work performed by.
prisoners.
They also revealed person-
al and community attitudes
toward criminal punishment
and reform.
In 1893, for example, War-
den J. P. Campbell protested
the injustice of the popular
notion that "once a criminal,
always a criminal."
In speaking of his efforts
to instill in prisoners' minds
"a desire for a better and
honorable life," he pointed
out that "nearly every one,
upon being discharged, has
expressed a determination to
never again allow them-
selves to commit any of-
fense, and this determina-
tion is the result of the en-
nobling influences which
have been brought to bear
on them during their impris-
onment."
The warden recognized an-
other problem, however,
when he pointed out that
there was "a class of in-
corrigibles who can never be
either persuaded or forced to
be otherwise."
He therefore strongly rec-
ommended that Idaho follow
the successful practice used
elsewhere of grading and
segregating prisoners "so
that those who are disposed
to do right may be treated
accordingly."
Many of the wardens ex-
pressed the conviction in
their biennial reports that
keeping the prisoners ac-
tively employed at useful
work was essential: Warden
Campbell put it, "I find that
the constant employment of
the prisoners in some kind of
work keeps their minds free
from plotting and is the best
agent for preserving order;
this also keeps them in bet-
ter health."
One of Campbell's succes-
sors, John W. Snook, writing
in 1910, said "idleness is al-
ways demoralizing, but no-
where more so than in en-
forced and long confine-
ment."
He continued: "Failure to
furnish some useful and pro-
ductive form of industry
makes a permanent idler of
him who was once in-
dustrious."
In 1923, Warden Snook was
back on the job. His attitude
toward the employment of
prisoners had not changed,
and he was pleased to report
the construction of a new
shirt factory which began
employing 170 men on 'Octo-
her 1 of that year.
"Prisoners who have truly
reformed should be released
as soon as is consistent with
the law," he wrote. "Work is
a great factor in salvaging
men and maintaining disci-
pline."
Part of the museum now .
being established at the old
penitentiary Will illustrate
the many ways Idaho's pris-
oners have worked out their
redemption. A special exhib-
it will show artifacts used in
the stone quarries, shirt fac-
tory, shoe factory, cannery,
and license plate factory.
A consistent program of
useful work for prisoners,
for which the early wardens
fought, has become a key
part of every American pen-
al institution.
Unless unforseen problems
arise, the old stone peniten-
tiary will be open to the pub-
lic by mid - September.
By PAT WYNN
Statesman Staff Writer
The old two -story warden's residence
at the Idaho State Penitentiary hasn't
housed any family life for nearly 20
years.
But many times in the past the
house, built of stone from the Table
Rock quarries, brimmed with activity.
Earl Stanley Gardner came for dinner.
Children's laughter could be heard in
the yard. Guests played tennis on the
private court.
Warden Louis Clapp and his family
were the last residents (1944 -'54). The
present warden, Raymond May, and
his wife live in the "new" residence
built in 1954.
When appointed, Warden Clapp, at
35, was the youngest warden in Idaho
history. His wife, Robie, five years
younger, now says "We've 'done more
time' at the prison than most of the in-
mates," referring to her late husband's
25 years with the institution.
When the Clapps and their son Jerry
moved into the warden's residence,
Mrs. Clapp remembers, "it was late at
night and I walked into the front recep-
tion room, put the suitcases down and
looked around. Plaster was falling off
the ceiling, cobwebs were hanging in
the hallway. There were moth trails on
the rugs and little brown bugs in the
bedroom. Lou began to take things up-
stairs and I said `Don't touch those
bags. I'm going to the Idan -ha!"
Upstairs, in one of the four bed-
rooms, they found bedsprings tied to-
gether with barbed wire. ( "That works
real well," commented a legislator's
wife later on tour of the house.)
The legislature appropriated $500 for
repairs, which Mrs. Clapp used for
paint and paper.
Jerry Clapp, now a U.S. District
Court clerk, remembers how the
scream of the escape siren woke him
up in the night, and how he stood out-
side the wall watching his father talk
to the prisoners inside during the 1952
prison riot. He says many of the
trustees became his friends as he
worked with them.
"I have come away with the strong
Now Deserted, the 1902 Stone Structure at the Idaho
State Penitentiary Stands at, Its Crossroads, Looking
Back at a Somewhat Riotous Past and Facing a Possibly
Glamorous Future as Part of a Proposed Idaho Museum -
Recreation Complex.
impression that an individual rehabili-
tates himself — not public funds, pro-
grams or money. He has to want to
change before he can be changed by
someone else," he said.
For his sister Marilyn, born while the
Clapps lived in the warden's house and
now an Internal Revenue Service tax
adjuster in Boise, life was not so free.
She was never left alone at the house,
guards accompanied her to school,
and, when she was older, her dates
sometimes had trouble getting through
the front gate.
She recalls using "prison jive" on
her teachers at St. Joseph's School —
"pad," "rapping and "doing your own
thing" were used by prison inmates
long before the hippie scene.
"Dad was referred to as the Long
Rifle by the prisoners," she says.
The exterior of the house is still in
remarkably good condition. The interi-
or mirrors years of neglect, misuse —
and occasional use as "minimum secu-
rity" housing.
However, the old house is now part
of the proposed Idaho Historical Mu-
seum- Recreation Complex, according
to Arthur Hart, Historical Museum di-
rector. There is much support for the
project, Hart said, and a feasibility
study, currently being conducted, will
be presented to the State Land Board
when it meets to decide the future of
the penitentiary property, which be-
comes surplus land in December.
Hart told members of the Greater
Boise Chamber of Commerce Tourism
and Convention Committee last week
that Boiseans shouldn't be ashamed of
the old prison grounds. "The function
of history is to tell it like it was." The
committee members voted to adopt a
resolution recommending the old pris-
on site be considered for a tourist -rec-
reation complex.
OLI
\�� \��<a\
2� ?���:����%
. :
.�
}
\�
\� � � � � � � �
� � )
� � � /� � � � �
� � � � � � � �
�� �����
���2�� �.�.:���������
\
&
Bloodhounds were used to hunt down escapees at the old penitentiary
:Idaho Yesterda y
Sentenc
By ARTHUR A. HART
Director,
Idaho Historical Museum
There have always been a
certain percentage of prison-
` ers in the Idaho State Peni-
s tentiary who have devoted
r all of their ingenuity and
energies to plans for escape.
Most of these have been
.;convicts serving long -term
or life sentences who felt
„' that they had little to lose,
Wand were therefore prepared
7 to take the considerable
risks involved.
s
Many Escapes I
Before the Territorial Pris-
on in Boise was occupied in
1872 (it was built in 1870),
the old wooden jail at Idaho
City was used. There were
many escapes from this
primitive structure, a por-
tion of which still survives
as a public display in that
town.
es Too
After the first 11 prisoners
were placed in the stone cell
house below Table Rock,
-there was an analysis of
their crimes and sentences
:an the Idaho Tri- Weekly
Statesman.
Judge Milton Kelly, new
-proprietor of the paper, ex-
pressed himself strongly on
the need for reform in the
territory's prison system,
chiefly on the grounds that
sentences were too long.
It is apparent that the
weighting of these sentences
Was rather different than it
would be a century later.
For example, two stage
coach robbers were given 15-
year sentences, the same as
was given to a man con-
victed of second - degree mur-
der.
Two Chinese prisoners,
convicted of separate
charges of manslaughter in
different counties, received
a four -year and six -year sen-
tence. Two grand larceny
convictions carried only one -
and -a -half and two -year sen-
tences.
Judge Kelly felt that every
one of these men would have
a better chance of rehabilita-
tion and be less of a burden
to society if they had been
given one, two, or three -year
sentences.
Whether they read the
judge's words or not, two of
these first prisoners escaped
a month after arrival. On
Gow, a Chinese serving our
years for manslaughter, and
Al Priest, stagecoach robber
serving 15 years, got away
as follows: Priest, who was
working picking up stones in
the small fenced -in yard out-
side the cell house, asked if
he could go get a drink.
Since he was wearing leg
shackles at the time, the
guard told him to go ahead.
The highwayman had appar-
ently secured a key to the
shackles, for the next thing
anyone knew he had
squeezed through a small
opening above the grate in a
window and was seen runing
up the hill back of the pris-
on.
In the confusion that fol-
lowed, the prisoners were
quickly herded into their
cells and locked up — all but
On Gow, who took advan-
tage of the diversion to skip
up the hills himself.
Since the United States
marshal, Jo Pinkham, was
in Boise at the time, the
search didn't get started un-
til he could get Rube Rob-
bins, his deptuy, and a party
together.
"It is very doubtful wheth-
er either will be caught with-
in the Territory," was The
Statesman's pessimistic pre-
diction.
Interestingly enough, Mar-
shal Pinkham offered a $100
reward for the capture of Al
Priest, but none at all for the
Chinese.
It was also discovered that
it wasn't On Gow at all, but
Ah Hood who had run away.
The ' Statesman said there
was strong doubt. that Ah
Hood had been guilty of the
crime of which he was con-
victed in the first place, and
that since he had already
served two - and -a -half of his
five -year sentence, he ought
to be left alone.
The judge also felt that the
escape proved his point
about long sentences. He jus-
tified Priest's escape on the
grounds that 15 years, or
even 10 were too long for a
man to look forward to, and
that he was bound to try to
escape under such condi-
tions. He felt that it might be
more merciful to just hang a
man rather than lock him up
for 15 years.
THE IDAHO STAl EbMA1V, isotse, ivtonuay, ,mugusL a, izpr%
PeM*tenu*ary
1 a ®
By BOB GRAMER
Statesman Staff Writer
For 105 years the old penitentiary
rested at Table Rock's and base. Al-
though the city suburbs closed in
around it over the years, what actually
happened behind its 17 -foot sandstone
walls remained mostly a mystery — ex-
cept to those who lived and worked
there.
Few outsiders ever saw the day -to-
day activities of the Idaho State Peni-
tentiary. Visitors seldom saw the walls
of iron -bars in maximum security, or
walked through a sterile, impregnable
place called "Siberia." Especially, they
didn't go down into a damp hole in the
ground, commonly called the "dun-
geon."
Now, prisoners, guards and adminis-
trators —all those knowing the secrets
of the old institution — have moved to a
new home, leaving the old site with its
legends, history and scars.
The state has taken over the prison
and plans to make an "historical
park," out of it — perhaps having a
place to eat, camping spaces and a
sporty ice skating rink. Some officials
are thinking of the old place as the
"Ghirardelli Square" of Idaho.
But whatever happens to the old in-
stitution short of tearing it down, it will
help tell the full story. Since March,
1872, when 11 prisoners were taken to
the old prison from Idaho City, to last
December when the final inmate was
moved to the new site, the durable but
grim institution has changed very
little.
Sandstone used to build most of the
prison's structures was quarried from
the sagebrush 4ills behind the in-
stitution. The rock was transported,
-cut into blocks. and set in mortar by in-
mates themselves. The native stone re-
sists the assaults of both weather and
men.
It has been a year since the prisoners
rioted and burned the prison causing
$100,00x• damage, but the sandstone
walls of the gq.ttea chapel, the prison's
sta -
standing first -year man in
the comoanv for July, ac
first building, and the dining hall still
stand.
The two burned buildings, as well as
the other structures, now are silent,
but they still echo 105 years of penal
history.
Many exciting legends exist about
those who lived at the old penitentiary.
Stories and books tell about Harry Or-
chard, who murdered Gov. Frank Steu-
nenberg, then spent the the rest of his
life a religious man behind the sand-
stone walls.
There are tales about Bob Meeks, a
member of the "Hole in the Wall"
gang, who rode with Butch Cassidy
and the Sundance Kid. Meeks kept
waiting for the two famous outlaws to
free him from the old prison. They nev.
er came.
Much of the history of the Idaho
State Penitentiary however, is neither
glamorous nor exciting, and was hidden
until the old site was vacated last year.
The story now slowly being pieced to-
gether, is a brutal account of how cruel
man can be to man. In a way, the pris-
on itself is a scar left behind to help
record that brutal history.
When the current captain of the
guard, Josef Munch, came to the old
penitentiary from Germany in 1964, the
guards were still teaching the "old
way" of dealing with inmates. The
"old way," Munch said, "was very
brutal," with a great deal of "violence
involved."
In fact, as late as five years ago, men
were being locked up in "Siberia"
(solitary confinement) — sometimes
for years — without being let out for
fresh air and exercise.
"Put a normal man into something
like that and when you open it up you
will have an animal," the captain said.
Siberia is one of the man -made scars
of the old penitentiary which helps re-
veal its history. It is one of those things
persons on the outside "would not have
anything to do with," Munch said.
But then in 1969, the public received
wind of Siberia. Then -Gov. Don Sam-
uelson ordered the section "closed and
destroyed," but it still stands today as
a monument to the "old way." Munch
said everything except explosives was
used to tear Siberia down, but nothing
could rip the old structure apart.
What is Siberia, Idaho - style, like?
It is a small building in the northeast
corner of the prison yard. It is painted
white, which probably is the way it got
its name, along with the sterile appear-
ance.
The building has 18 cells. Six — the
"best" of the bunch — are called the
.'hole."
The other 12 cells are about three
feet wide and eight feet long. In the
ceiling are two round holes, each two
inches in diameter, which gave the
men — sometimes for months at a time
— their only glimpse of sunlight and:
their only fresh air. In the floor is a
six -inch hole which was used as a toi-
let.
Legends and true stories are told
about men in Siberia committing sui-
cide or going crazy.
Di
A guard, who now watches over the
empty prison yard, said there are ru-
mors the barren stalls are haunted by
a "Chinaman" who committed suicide
there. The facts, however, need not be
Men in Siberia were fed a mono.
-tdnous liquid'substance which was the
tln'C Mnndav__Au¢ust 5, 1974
veS ecrei f SO Prison Lif.
7)
e
same day after day, Munch said. They
received two fluid meals a day — until
officials decided it wasn't nourishing
enough and served the men solid food
just before it was closed.
The only material comfort given the
men in Siberia was a blanket to sleep
with at night. A man once choked him-
self to death with his blanket, said Lt.
Dale Fahey, who retired as a guard in
1971.
Once a week the men were allowed
out of their cells to take a shower. The
shower room was located just in front
of the stalls, though, so the men got no
fresh air or sunlight.
Siberia, however, inhuman as it was,
still wasn't considered the worst of the
"in -house punishment" utilities used
by guards and administrators to keep
unruly prisoners under control.
Most Idaho citizens probably believe
the dungeon went out with the Dark
(Ages. Most did not know — and may
not believe — that men were placed in
a hole in the ground, three miles from
most Boiseans, as late as the 1940's.
Just after passing through the castle -
like main entrance of the old peniten-
tiary is cell block No. one. Towards the
far end of the sandstone building, on its
right side and in the middle' of a
parched flower garden, are two iron
doors.
Opening the heavy doors, a visitor
gazes into a dark pit 18 feet deep. State
officials this summer thought it was an
3.ccess or storage hole because it
didn't seem human enough to be the
dungeon rumored to exist.
But according to records and old
guards, the hole is the same dungeon
where men spent as long as a month
underground.
A decaying ladder leads to the bot-
tom of the pit. A person has to shinny
his way down for fear the rungs might
creak under his weight. The dungeon is'
10 feet wide at its longest point. The air
Is thick and dusty in the hole, making
It difficult to breathe even with the
Ironclad. doors above open to let in
`resh air.
The walls — cold, gray sandstone —
iave lost their luster because of age
ind cold. It is oppressively damp in the
;mall chamber —once used to house as -
nany as six men at a time - and the
loor is black mud. Your . feet sink in
ibout an inch.
Lt. Fahey says there is a legend Mrs.
?leanor Roosevelt toured, the peniten-
iary while her husband was president.
;aw the brutal dungeon being used
ind ordered it closed down. No other
eason can be found in prison records
,s to why the deep pit finally was
losed.
Few records exist describing what
appened, hour by hour, at the old
enitentiary. Most records are spread
mong a number of persons or simply
re missing. The records that do exist
�t the guards and administrators
nashamedly reveal through their own
ockets the roles they played in form -
ig the prison's history.
acquired by the Idaho" Historical So-
ciety), men still were in the dungeon
on Aug. 9, 1940, the day the book ceased
reporting in -house punishments.
The book is not rumor but fact. It
was kept daily and approved with the
captain of the yard's signature.
According to the book, inmates R.
Curtis and E. Pruett were placed in the
dungeon on May 22, 1939, for trying to
escape. They remained in the hole for
a month, during the hot month of June,
and finally were released June 21, 1939.
Prison officials, however, didn't
think the two had paid enough for their
disobedience, and moved them imme-
diately from the dungeon to Siberia,
where they remained from June 21 to
Dec. 11, 1939.
Curtis and Pruett were released in
time for Christmas, but weren't
allowed to celebrate it like the other
men because prison officials still didn't
feel they,had paid for trying to escape.
Listing as their offense the same
"trying to escape," prison officials
moved the two men from Siberia to
their cells, where they were locked up
— without sunlight or fresh air — from
De 11 1939 J
c. , , to une 11, 1940.
In total; Curtis and Pruett — now
Shept 11ames on a prison record
_ weren't allowed exercise or
fresh air from May 22, 1939, to June 11,
1940 — all for trying to escape.
On its soiled and ripped pages, the
old book also reveals the brutality en-
dured by a faceless man named E.
Miles at the sandstone fortress about
four miles from the state capitol.
A Mr. Arnold reported Miles was
carrying a knife. Based on Arnold's
testimony, Miles was found guilty of
the offense and locked in his cell — in-
definitely.
Since the book picks up Mile's plight
on Jan. 1, 1938, the day the book began
recording daily privileges, Miles could
have been locked in his cell before
then. The book skips most of 1938 be-
cause pages are missing, but the day it
picks up again in 1939, Miles still is
locked in his cell for "carrying a
knife."
On Aug. 9, 1940, when the book
ceases keeping records, Miles still is
locked in his cell — without ever being
let out for nearly two years — because
Arnold witnessed him carrying a knife.
Miles' ultimate fate was not recorded
in the book.
Some of the prison guards — in-
cluding John Williams, an assistant
captain of the guard until 1971 — said
prisoners who preferred solitude ac-
tually liked .Siberia. If a man spent a
year in Siberia, however, as was cus-
tom until at least 1964, they would
come out in "bad shape" or on the
"meek" side, Fred Hamrick, a guard
at the prison until this year said.
A man would have to be very strong
to "cope with a place like Siberia or
the dungeon, said Dr. Thomas Kruzich,
a psychiatrist who spends time work-
ing at the prison. In most cases, how-
ever, the man probably would come
out "broken" because of sensory de-
privation, he said.
In the maximum security facility at'
the old prison, the last building con-
structed at the old site (1949), is Death
Row and the gallows chamber. Even
on a sunny and hot August afternoon,
very little light issues through to the
gallows room.
No other portion of the prison tells its
story as does the gallows chamber. The
chamber is as aseptic as a hospital and
as pious as a church. A group of vis-
itors remarked once they felt uncom-
fortable in the chamber, because it
was as if they were disturbing some-
thing solemn.
The main room of the gallows cham-
ber is large, considering few persons
ever were there except the executioner
and the executed.
There is a hook in the ceiling, next to
the room's only light, where the rope
was attached. Below the hook is a four -
foot iron trap -door where the con-
demned stood. The door was too wide
to be straddled, but the victim couldn't
even if he tried because of wieghts at-
tached to his feet.
There is a window on one side of the
gallows room where the avenged fami-
ly could watch the victim drop to his
death to pay for his crime.
In the bottom chamber is where the
officials retrieved the body and cleaned
up the mess. A 50 -pound weight opened
continued on Page 11B)
GRAFFITI — Leaving something behind for others.
Old Pen Keeps Letyend, Scars
fn-
(Continued from Page 10B)
the door before the man fell to the end
of the rope.
Nine men were hung at the old peni-
tentiary. The first was Ed Rice on Nov.
30, 1901.
In the beginning hangings were held
outside in the Northwest corner of the
yard and water was used to spring the
trap. In 1924, When Noah Arnold, a
black man, was to be hung for murder,
the water froze at midnight as he was
about to be executed. He and prison of-
ficials stood in the cold December air
until the water thawed.
In the Dec. 19, 1924, Idaho Statesman
the black man was reported going to
his death denying the crime. When the
warden asked Arnold if he had any-
thing to say, Arnold nearly shouted, "I
want you all to know that I am not
guilty of the murder of William Crisp."
The Statesman reported that Arnold
was worried on the day of his death
that the gallows would not work prop-
erly and he would choke or be strangled
to death, as often happened in those
days. But the gallows worked. It took
"only" nine minutes to take the life out
of him.
A 36- year -old itinerant laborer, Ray-
mond Allen Snowden, was the last man
hung at the Idaho State Penitentiary.
He was hung on Oct. 18, 1957, for the
slaying of a woman in Garden City.
Asked by the warden if he had any-
thing to say, Snowden said, "I can't
put into words what I want to say."
The gallows at the old penitentiary
now stand unused, like every other gal-
lows or death chamber in the United
States since the Supreme Court ruling
of June, 1972.
There are certain things about the
history of the old penitentiary, though,
that legends and record books and
even the gallows can't say. What emo-
tions did prisoners feel? What did they
dream of, aspire to and hate?
No newspaper reporters went behind
the sandstone walls except for riots or
hangings, so the prison population
didn't have its spokesmen to watch -dog
their rights.
Naturally, prison administrators
didn't reveal to the public very much
of what was happening behind the 17-
foot high sandstone walls. So on the
cold, hard walls of the 105 - year -old in-
stitution evolved a new kind of
"journalistic realism," called peniten-
tiary graffiti. There, inmates expressed
the human urge to create, express and
leave something behind for others.
In Siberia, where the men were sup-
posed to be hard, cruel and unruly, one
inmate quoted a soliloquy from Shakes-
peare's Hamlet. Written on Death Row,
where men were supposed to be so un-
wanted by society that death was their
only alternative, one inmate scratched
the words "love, peace" into the walls
with a fork.
The old penitentiary has its share of
pornographic graffiti, but surprisingly
less than probably most gas stations. It
may be that inmates are afraid to
write of sex as they have no approved
outlet for sexual desires, said Dr. Kruz-
ich, so they write less pornographic
graffiti than they would otherwise.
Much of the graffiti at the old prison
is pessimistic and perhaps could be de-
scribed as philosophically cruel.
On the bottom of one bunk an imate
scratched into the dark blue paint his
philosophy towards life. "Barbarism is
the natural state of man kind, civil-
ization is unnatural. It is a whim of cir-
cumstance and barbarism must "ul-
timately triumph!"
Another inmate wrote in his cell tha
"The only true law is that which lead
to freedom there is no other." Anothe
declares "Viva la Revolution."
SIBERIA — White, cold and a "nice" place to
spend a year.
s '
Contrary to public opinion, many in-
mates were intelligent people with a
need to express themselves and to
communicate to their fellow prisoners
their thoughts, Dr. Kruzich said. This
helps explain why inmates might
scratch graffiti into the prison walls.
One learns quickly not to challenge
the ideas of a fellow prisoner, so many
of the intelligent prisoners who liked to
express their thoughts might write
them on the walls to communicate a
new thought to a fellow Inmate, Dr.
Kruzich said. That might be the reason
an inmate would write, "Life is what
you make it" or "a person that stands
as his own defence has engaged a
fool!"
Inmates themselves tell the most in-
teresting history of the old penitentiary
with their optimistic and sometimes
black graffiti. For the most part, 105
years of writings have been either de-
stroyed in riot fires or smudged out by
the paint brushes of the prison bureau-
crats.
But a great deal of the story of the
prison is written on the walls of Si-
beria, Death Row and maximum secu-
rity. On these walls, the scars talk for
themselves. It is here the inhabitants
tell the public outside, which for years
"didn't really care," that the men in-
side think mankind is "barbaric,"
"Jesus Saves," and that "power"
should go to the "people."
Visitors to the old prison — no matter
what the state decides to do with it —
probably will never forget the brutal
history of the Idaho State Penitentiary.
As one inhabitant of the sandstone
fortress wrote, "You are in a 'melody
lane' you better remember the nam
cuz you wont be the same after 'mel-
ody lane'."
�� �� \
��� ~
�� } � ��
����
��������: �� y ` ` ��
��` ���� f ' �� �� ��
, f G �
������ ^ ��������\
\ / � � ��y ��
��/ ��: \ z .
���� �� ���� �� ` �� ��
�� � �� � x 2 �� 9 �
��w k ����
y � ; t , : f
���� ����x m - m
y A ���� \ ������
w . * - J . } , ��\
�� �� ���� \ t . �� \ G .
�� � > a �� / � �� z � :
/ \ ���� }
���� A �� �� �� (
�� �� : ����
�� �� �� � �� .
��w
������. . ��.
, .
Ride and Tie race
recalls pen escape
on good 01 Is e i am
Dawn brightened the eastern sky in December
1901 as Sam Bruner slipped off his stolen horse for
a last look at the Idaho State Penitentiary at the
base of the hills below him. At a distance, the
prison looked like a dirty pile of rocks that had
washed down from the hills.
Bruner, a trusted prisoner who worked in the
prison's power plant, had left a banked fire in the
prison's steam generator. He wanted the fire to
keep the power going so that the lights wouldn't go
out and signal his escape. With any luck, he would
be miles into the hills before his escape was no-
ticed.
Bruner knew he had to stop thinking about the
prison and concentrate on his escape. He turned
his back on the prison and got back on Selam, the
horse he'd stolen at the prison. Steam rose from
the old horse as Bruner rode to the next steep rise.
He dismounted and ran uphill alongside the horse,
breathing hard. A short while later, man and horse
blended into the rocks and sage and never were
seen again.
Old Selam was used in 2 escape attempts that
week. The first, by another inmate, failed. Bruner
was successful because he rode the horse only on
the more level stretches and walked beside him on
the steep hills.
Almost 78 years after that escape, a group of
horses and riders gathered Sunday at the Old State
Penitentiary on Warm Springs Avenue to recap-
ture the feeling of Bruner's ride in the Old Selam
Ride and Tie race sponsored by the Southwest
Idaho Trail and Distance Riders Inc.
The competition drew 26 riders. Working 2 rid-
ers to a horse, entrants took turns riding and run-
ning along a rocky trail above the old penitentiary.
The trail stretched 10 miles toward Table Rock
and back over hard - packed roads, slab rock, sand,
loose rocks and steep hills.
Arlene C. Morris, ride promoter, explained the
tactics of a ride and tie race:
Rider and runner should stay within a few min-
utes of each other, she said. When the runner be-
gins to tire, the rider stops, ties the horse to a tree
or rock, and starts running. The runner, mean-
while, catches up to the horse, unties it and rides on
past the new runner.
Superior runners can outdistance a horse in
rugged terrain, she said, so both horses and run-
ners have to be in top condition.
The horses which raced Sunday all were 4 years
old, Morris said. The animals' pulse rates, respira-
tion and vital signs were checked by volunteers
halfway along the trail. They were also monitored
for lameness and dehydration.
All 13 teams finished the race.
Awards were given to first -place finishers in
male - female, male and female teams. The clock
was stopped on each team as the 2nd runner
crossed the finish line.
Lew Hollander and Al Paulo, both of Powell
Butte, Ore., were the first male team to finish and
the first overall. Hollander, 49, was the oldest run-
ner in the race.
Winnie Morrison and Louise Bronson, both of
Kuna, were the first female team to finish. The
first male - female team to finish was Nancy Sprin-
ger and Delbert Zehrany, both of Powell Butte,
Ore.
The distance rider's group also sponsored 2 Old
Selam Endurance rides Saturday. Riders had to
ride a 25 -mile trail in less than 6 hours, or a 50 -mile
trail in less than 12 hours. Of the 27 riders on the 50-'
mile ride and the 19 riders on the 25 -mile ride, all
but 2 riders finished.
The 50 -mile winner was Robert Morris, Boise.
The 25 -mile winner was Clinton Murphy, Emmett.
THE IDAHO STATESMAN, Boise, Monday, October 15, 1979
Resirch enjoys a wet
towel offered by Lew
Hollander, right, while
Winnie Morrison, far right
on foot, and rider Louise
Brunsen arrive at the vet
check
Runners and riders start in a cloud of dust
Larry Stephens is too busy riding Sons Siskiou Doll to take time to enjoy the view of downtown Boise
��q
�� ��'
f
u A_1k " rA u OWks Plan to save Old 'Pen' as Park
AN, Boise, Thursday, April 26, 1973
ny inirvuY l,ANIERUN
Statesman Staff Writer
The century-old Idaho State Peniten-
tiary has "a great true story to tell," a
historian told park officials Tuesday as
he won their support for a state histori-
cal park at the prison site.
Arthur A. Hart, director of the Idaho
Historical Museum, unveiled a plan to
save the old sandstone prison buildings
and wall from the bulldozer and trans-
form them into the Idaho Territorial
Penitentiary Historical Park — "a park
of uncommon potential."
The Parks and Recreation Board lis-
tened to the scheme, liked it and en-
dorsed a commitment to work for its
establishment.
The penitentiary is one of the oldest
in the United States, a fact which has
not been a source of pride to Idahoans,
Hart noted. But now that a new prison
is nearly completed, the historic old
site could become an attraction for
tourists and natives alike, he said.
Hot and cold springs are located on
the prison site and could lead to inter-
esting developments — even a pool fa-
cility similar to Lava Hot Springs,
Park Director Steve Bly suggested.
Hart said the area which includes
some of the hillside behind the prison
walls, has potential for overnight
camping and trail systems. Within the
prison walls are many buildings which
could house concessions, small shops,
and .restaurants.
Hart sees the historical park as a
revenue producing project and pre-
dicted "taking a friend to dinner at the
pen" could become a fashionable thing
to do in Boise.
The alternative to preservation is to
demolish the buildings and wall and
build more Boise subdivisions, Hart
said. "`If you people aren't interested,
I think the whole thing is going to be
bulldozed."
While the board did come out with a
strong commitment to the project, one
member — Kent Gist, Fruitland — ob-
jected. He said he likes the idea but
isn't ready after one presentation to
commit the Park Department to estab-
lishment of the park.
Hart compared potential of the Boise
prison site with a highly successful ter-
ritorial prison park in Yuma, Ariz.
There, he said, only the iron works of
two cell blocks remain alongside a
small musem displaying inmate craft
work. Yet the park attracts about
200,000 paying visitors each year.
Compare that to what Idaho would
have to offer, Hart said.
"We have a dozen massive and im-
pressive stone buildings of historic and
architectural interest, one of them the
first public building erected in Idaho in
1870. We have 40 acres within a wall
with picturesque corner turrets.
"We have a natural setting that is
impressive, dotted with such attrac-
tions as scenic overlooks, natural hot
springs, cold artesian wells, groves of
old trees and the old quarries from
which the prison was built."
The Idaho Historical Society already
has endorsed the idea and Hart will try
in two weeks to sell it to the State
Land Board, whose cooperation will be
needed in making arrangements for
park use of the land.
Hart sees the park plan as an oppor-
tunity for historical interpretation of
an oldtime western penal system. Fa-
mous escape tales and other true sto-
ries about the people and events behind
the walls in East Boise will fascinate
visitors, the historian predicted.
The story can be told without fakery,
he said, since so much of the old facil-
ity still remains.
THE IDAHO STATESMAN, Boise, Sunday, Jul,
Old state pen
uses alarm
to halt `visitors'
For one hundred years the Oki
Idaho State Penitentiary kept con-
victs locked in. Now a historical mon-
ument, the old prison still maintains
an elaborate alarm system — but this
one is designed to keep people out.
Since the system was installed last
December, the Idaho State Historical
Society says 24 persons — all juve-
niles have been caught trespassing.
Of those, 14 have faced legal charges.
The old stone prison has not
housed prisoners since 1973, when
the new penitentiary .south of Boise
opened. Since then, the high walls
and empty buildings have been a tar-
; get for vandals, according to Kathy
Dodson, manager of the prison for
the Historical Society.
She said vandals have broken win-
dows, damaged automobiles, smeared
paint over walls inside some of the
buildings, stolen equipment and bro-
ken into the society's office.
Historical Society officials hope
the new alarm system, rigged around
the top of the outer wall and inside
the buildings, will discourage people
from entering the prison grounds as
anything but tourists.
"I think if people were aware that
this place was under electronic sur-
veillance, they wouldn't be tempted
to climb over the wall," Dodson said.
The Historical Society has posted
signs "everywhere" around the prison
grounds, Dodson said, warning
people about the alarm system and
that they will be prosecuted for
trespassing if caught.
The silent electrical detection sys-
tem is designed to alert the Ada
County Sheriff's Department of in-
truders as soon as they cross the top
of the 15 -foot wall, Dodson said.
Once inside, they will also set off the
alarm if they try to break into any of
the 15 or so buildings, including the
cell blocks and artifact storage build-
ings.
Mel Fisher, an attorney for the
Ada County prosecutor's office, said
those caught so far were loitering at
the top of the wall. He said none is
suspected of vandalizing the proper-
ty, an act the system was primarily
designed to prevent -.
By ARTHUR A. HART
Director, Idaho
Historical Museum
Maintaining Idaho's histor-
ic old penitentiary for this
and future generations in-
volves many interesting
problems and projects.
First, and most obvious, is
the need to provide visitors
with a meaningful ex-
perience of the old stone
complex of buildings east of
town through appropriate
displays, guided tours, and
historical information.
Telling the story with ac.
curacy, balance, and a con-
cern for human values re-
quires a great deal of re-
search, not only of written
records but among the mem-
ories of many people associ-
ated with the old institution
over the past half century —
either as inmates or as
guards.
Naturally, accounts of
some events and conditions
vary greatly, depending
upon the position of the per-
son telling the story.
Facts are important, but
human actions are most of-
ten based upon an in-
complete knowledge of the
facts of any situation.
For this reason it is ob-
vious that what different
people in the human dramas
enacted at the old prison
thought was true is at least
as important as what was
true.
The many tape recordings
and other information being
collected can allow future
historians to form balanced
conclusions, but we are
probably a long way from
such conclusions now.
A large part of the Old
Penitentiary's significance
lies in its architecture. Pre-
serving and restoring these
rugged stone buildings is a
major responsibility of the
Idaho Historical Society.
While some of the old struc-
tures can be left pretty
much as they are, others
need to be carefully restored
to insure continued useful-
ness and the safety of vis-
itors.
Certaintly the key struc-
ture at the Old Pen is the
1893.94 Administration Build-
ing. Its cathedral -like tower
with the four spiky finials is
the prominent landmark
visitors see first as they ap.
proach the historical area
now being planned as part of
a master - scheme for best
utilization of the total prop.
erty.
The early view shown
today is the one visitors
should get, say the planners,
as they enter an area of
shops, restaurants, and Vic.
torian houses around a park.
Shortly after this picture
was taken (about 1910), the
wooden shack at left was re-
placed by a handsome stone
guards' quarters. The Bish-
ops House will soon com-
plete the frame for the ap-
proach when it is relocated
on the right side of this
grouping.
Restoration of the Admin-
istration Building, which
now houses a museum, audi-
torium, and offices, will en-
tail re- roofing in the original
style, reconstruction of the
balustrade of a kind of "war-
den's walk" which shows in
the old photo, and sand.
blasting to remove a coat of
white paint which hides the
handsome tan sandstone.
The Old Pen is open every
afternoon. Visitors are wel.
come to come and watch the
restoration as it progresses.
K's
.°
� �
Question for Legislators:
Will Historic Site Change
From Penitentiary to Park?
By ALEXA HOWELL
If enthusiasm alone were sufficient
to assure passage of a bill in the 42nd
Idaho Legislature, the proposal cur-
rently being drawn to establish an Ida-
ho State Historical Park on the site of
the old penitentiary would be a cer-
tainty.
The creation and development of a
cultural, recreational and commercial
facility on the 40 -acre grounds of the
century-old penal institution and within
the sandstone walls of the prison itself
has been under discussion for three to
five years, according to Steven Bly,
State Park Director.
The legislation being formulated,
however, has been in active consid-
eration only since its endorsement four
months ago by the Idaho State Parks
and Recreation Board. In presenting
his ideas for a historical - commercial
tourist attraction at that time, Arthur
Hart, director of the State Historical
Museum, outlined his hopes to see the
State Historical Society and the Idaho
Department of Parks and Recreation
preserve the old penitentiary under
state ownership.
The results of that presentation by
Hart, as well as his many subsequent
similar talks before local organ-
izations, have strengthened public and
state support for use of the group of
more than a million dollars worth of
r'
buildings as an income producing en-
tity and a major asset for Idaho.
The affirmative feeling in the legisla-
ture for Hart's proposal is reflected
in a comment by Pete Cenarrusa, Sec-
retary of State. "I haven't heard any
opposition at this point," he related.
"However," he cautioned, "there is no
blanket approval either."
The studies for creating the histori-
cal park off Warm Springs Avenue are
still in the very preliminary stage. The
question of financing is a vital consid-
eration when determining feasibility of
the plan. Gov. Cecil Andrus stated that
although the Land Board supports the
proposition that the old prison site be
utilized by the Historical Society, "the
potential problem is of course financ-
ing for several proposals." He noted
that the legislature is currently ex-
amining several methods of funding
these proposals.
As explained by John Hough, special
assistant to the governor, the proposals
mentioned by the governor refer to the
four basic alternatives open to the
state. First, it could sell the property.
Second, the state could retain the land
and buildings without development of
the Historical Park.
Third, it could restore the structures
and lease them to commercial enter-
prises which would return a percen-
tage of the profits to the state, which
would retain control. Lastly, the re-
habilitation procedures could be a co-
operative venture between the state
and private business with the state
managing the development.
Although the Land Board has accord-
ed an informal nod of approval for the
original proposal made by Hart,
the land must first be declared surplus
by the Board of Corrections before it is
turned over to the Parks Department.
The transfer is tentatively scheduled
for June 30, 1974.
In addition to requesting funds for
maintenance and operation of the prop-
erty, Park Director Bly noted the im-
portance of forming an Old Peniten-
tiary Historical Park Foundation, simi-
lar to the Lava Hot Springs Founda-
tion. The three member board and di-
rector would represent a vehicle for
negotiation with private enterprise.
The development would be gradual,
Bly remarked, extending over a period
of ten years. "Initially," he said, "the
state cannot expect to gain large
amounts of revenue."
However, before any bill can be
voted upon by the Legislature, a thor-
ough financial impact statement will
have to be prepared to inform the IN
legislators of the cost of the project to
the state.
Although no one can specify exactly
what the proposed bill will stipulate,
enthusiasm runs high in its support.
Ada County legislator Bill Onweiler
agreed that the opportunity to utilize
the whole area of the old penitentiary
can "be a substantial revenue produc-
er for the state." He mentioned the in.
creased number of people who would
be drawn to the local recreational as
tivities, as part of the need to lessen
fuel expenditure.
Approval of Hart's idea was
reiterated by. Peggy Bunting, anothet
Ada County legislator. She said, "I can
think of no other building which i;
more reflective of Idaho's early his.
tory." Mrs. Bunting envisioned a his.
torical monument which would be rep..
resentative of the culture of the 19th
century Idaho community, as well w
of the grim actualities of penal life in
the early territorial period.
The collective imagination of numer,
ous interest groups has been stimu,
lated by the original presentation by
Hart. The museum director envision;
the old sandstone penitentiary trans
formed into a Ghirardelli Square o';
Idaho.
In addition to the museum, he wouk
like to see shops, a restaurant and s
theater constructed in the manner o?
Larimer Square in Denver and Pioneer
Square in Seattle.
Boise State College has suggested us
ing a cell block area for a ceramic
workshop. There has been talk of es
tablishing a Basque ethnic center it
old penitentiary wall, visitors can look east towards the Jaycee
cross on Table Rock, symbol of love for God and man. Stone for'
the walls came from a quarry on' the far side of Table Rock..
e state.
Although no one can specify exactly
what the proposed bill will stipulate,
enthusiasm runs high in its support.
Ada County legislator Bill Onweiler
agreed that the opportunity to utilize
the whole area of the old penitentiary
can "be a substantial revenue produc•
er for the state." He mentioned the in•
creased number of people who wouk
be drawn to the local recreational ac
tivities, as part of -the need to lesser
fuel expenditure.
Approval of Hart's idea was
reiterated by Peggy Bunting, another
Ada County legislator. She said, "I car
think of no other building which i.,
more reflective of Idaho's early his.
tory." Mrs. Bunting envisioned a his•
torical monument which would be rep•
resentative of the culture of the 19tt
century Idaho community, as well a,,
of the grim actualities of penal life it
the early territorial period.
The collective imagination of numer
ous interest groups has been stimu
lated by the original presentation b}
Hart. The museum director envision
the old sandstone penitentiary trans
formed into a Ghirardelli Square o
Idaho.
In addition to the museum, he woul<
like to see shops, a restaurant and <
theater constructed in the manner o
Larimer Square in Denver and Pioneer
Square in Seattle.
Boise State College has suggested us
ing a cell block area for a ceramic
workshop. There has been talk of es
tablishing a Basque ethnic center it
one of the buildings.
Parks Director Bly suggests a 1,001
acre park extending from the Warn
Springs Golf Course to the top of Tabli
Rock. The hot springs offer ideal recre
ation opportunities. In addition, plain
could be made to accommodate camp
ers, an ice rink, bridle trails, a conven
tion center, and a much needed greet
area for Boise's East End.
There is now only speculation as t
which suggestions will be incorporate
into the body of the proposed legisla
tion. It is possible however, that Boi
seans may one day walk freely aroun4
the former prison home of Diamond
field Jack, Harry Orchard and thi
Hole in the Wall Gang.
f
7
Y -
.h
..,�:��k.,�,.....�.
Behind prison walls: Headquarters (built in
1893) resembles an old stone castle
Inside the walls
of Boise's old prison
The century -old Idaho State penitentiary
in Boise, interesting architecturally as
well as for the social questions it poses,
is now a State Historic Site open daily
for public tours. A grey sandstone com-
plex on 510 acres just southeast of town,
it dates to Idaho's territorial days and
stayed in active use from 1872 to 1973.
The hour -long tour begins with a slide
show of the prison's history. Inside the
18- foot -high stone walls you see build-
ings that variously resemble a medieval
castle and a wild West town, the rose
garden where condemned prisoners were
hanged before permanent gallows were
built in 1954, the four - tiered steel cell
blocks, death row, and "Siberia" —the
dreaded closet -size solitary cells.
Displays document famous inmates,
escape attempts, changing punishment
philosophies, and contraband found on
previous prisoners, including an ingeni-
ous collection of improvised knives. It
can be a sobering experience.
Tours begin at noon, 1, 2, 3, and 4 P.M.,
Sunday through Saturday, and also at 10
and 11 A.M. on Saturday only. Cost is $1
for adults; 50 cents for children.
From downtown, follow Idaho Highway
21 east along Main Street until it jogs
onto Warm Springs Avenue; continue
21 /z miles, then turn left onto Peniten-
tiary Road. Or catch the Warm Springs
bus at Eighth and Grove streets at 15
minutes to or after the hour, daily except
Sunday; 25 cents each way. The bus
stops I/z mile from the prison gate. ❑
SUNSET
Historical Society Offers Tours Behind the Walls
Ghosts Haunt Century -Old
Statesman Photo By Tom Treick
DOORWAYS LEAD TO SOLITARY CELLS SEALED WITH STEEL
... no light, no furniture, no sound for a month
By TENA ANDERSEN
The Idaho Statesman
When that heavy, barre
slams shut behind you with a
clank, you jump, and, for a s
ond, wonder if the Old Idah
tentiary is really retired.
Then the tour guide's f
voice takes over, another doo
open on a sunlit prison ya
you're on your way to 45 min
Idaho penal history.
Tours are given daily at t
Penitentiary east of the city j
Warm Springs Avenue. Signs
you around the wall to a s
parking area near the ad
tration building where the
start.
If you are early, you may t
in a small museum looking at
hand -made weapons confi .
from prisoners, samples of pri!
dustries, old photographs ani
leg irons and the fabled ba.
chain.
A 15- minute slide show des
Idaho's early days when crir
joined gold miners in the
towns. Early jails and severs
tures of the Old Penitentiar
also featured.
The cornerstone for the
building at the prison was 1,
1870. Others were added latel,
wall was built and several
buildings were put up in the
since. The prison was last occ
in 1973.
One hundred years of prison
ity has made the place full of h
cal facts. The tour guide spou
formation as you stroll amon
buildings trying to imagine the
populated with prisoners
guards. As you walk across the
line — an 18 -foot open space bet
the prison yard and the wall -
glance over your shoulder and i
ine the guard in the watchtowE
his rifle trained on your back.
A vivid imagination would ha
trouble conjuring up fright,
scenes because the buildings
cells are in original condition
the focus of the tour is informal
and historical, and those aspect,
weigh any inclinations to
fright.
From the warden's rose ga
also the site of prison hangings
walk along the east wall to Sit
THE IDAHO STATESMAN, Boise, Monday, July 26, 1976
Is
r-Old Idaho Penitentiary
By TENA ANDERSEN
The Idaho Statesman
IMWhen that heavy, barred door
shut behind you with a ringing
lank, you jump, and, for a split sec -
nd, wonder if the Old Idaho Peni-
entiary is really retired.
Then the tour. guide's friendly
, ce takes over, another door slides
pen on a sunlit prison yard and
ou're on your way to 45 minutes of
Idaho penal history.
Tours are given daily dt the Old
Penitentiary east of thel city just off
arm Springs Avenue. Signs direct
you around the wall to a spacious
parking area near the adminis-
tration building where the tours
start.
If you are early, you may browse
in a small museum looking at crude,
hand -made weapons confiscated
from prisoners, samples of prison in-
dustries, old photographs and yes,
leg irons and the fabled ball and
chain.
A 15- minute slide show describes
Idaho's early days when criminals
joined gold miners in the boom
towns. Early jails and several pic-
tures of the Old Penitentiary are
also featured.
The cornerstone for the first
building at the prison was laid in
1870. Others were added later, the
wall was built and several out-
buildings were put up in the years
since. The prison was last occupied
in 1973.
One hundred-years of prison activ-
ity has made the place full of histori-
cal facts. The tour guide spouts in-
formation as you stroll among the
buildings trying to imagine the place
populated • with prisoners and
guards. As you walk across the dead
line — an 18 -foot open space between
the prison yard and the wall — you
glance over your shoulder and imag-
ine the guard in the watchtower has
his rifle trained on your back.
A vivid imagination would have no
trouble conjuring up frightening
scenes because the buildings and
cells are in original condition. But
the focus of the tour is informational
and historical, and those aspects out-
weigh any inclinations toward
fright.
From the warden's rose garden,
also the site of prison hangings, you
walk along the east wall to Siberia,
this prison's version of hell, which is
known as solitary confinement.
Seeing the tiny cells and imagining
men confined in them for no less
than a month at a time was the most
sobering part of the tour.
Each cell is no more than eight
feet long and four feet wide. There is
no bed, no chair, no light, no sound,
only a hole in the floor for a toilet.
a
hO <�, a• C.• You
eren't There
- a
the tour was "not creepy at all," but
rather "interesting." She also said it
was hard to believe the same crude
facilities were in use as late as 1973.
Tours are given daily from noon to
4 p.m., Saturdays from 10 �.m. to 4
p.m. The tour costs $1 for adults, 50
cents for children, and 25 cents for
persons on school trips.
Thick concrete walls separate the
, The money goes to the' Idaho His -
cells and a .door of half -inch steel
torical Society .for its work restoring
seals one end.
the prison.
"You mean they put them in these
No matter how much information
little rooms? I'd say, 'Kill me, I'll die
a guide tries to put into his tour, ac-
anyhow!' " one woman on the tour
cording to Brenda Grunke, week -
said when she looked inside a soli -
end supervisor, "There are . always
tary confinement cell.
questions about escapes. We get lots
The tour moves on past the dining
of, questions about the new peniten-
hall, the barber shop, the infirmary
tiary, too. We have former inmates
and into more modern cell blocks.
and guards on our tours some -
There is a brief stop on death row,
times."
then a look at. the gallows room
Besides the ghosts of its former in-
where only one prisoner, has been
habitants, the Old Pen has other per-
executed.
manent residents. There are the pi-
The small size of the cells im-
geons that roost on the cell blocks,
pressed the people on tour, as did
unless there are other visitors, like
the heavy steel bars. Everyone tried
the pair of golden eagles that stop -
a moment in a cell with the door
ped by last winter and drove the pi-
pulled shut. Almost.
geons away.
The tour of, the main compound
And there is,the friendly spirit of,
and Pe women's quarters off to one
Dennis the cat that patrolled the
side takes 45 minutes. The entire vis-
prison in the late 1950s and early
it, including the slide show and the
1960. Dennis has . a ,small grave
museum visit, takes almost an hour
marker in the prison yard recogniz-
and a half.
ing him for his loyal service.
A history teacher from. Abbots-
ford, British Columbia, said he found
tpe tour interesting and amazing. "It
your face with Fostex Cake: it
was not the 19th Century flavor that
"It
�[ackheacls and oil skin.
got to me," he said. was realiz-
y
ing that the same type of things
Pew Fostex Medicated Cover
were still going on in 1957."
th purchase.
The teacher, John Shewan, said he
yyds S
did his masters thesis on history in
.49
the Northwest, so he came to the old
now
prison for its historical significance.
His friend, Margaret Davis, also
C
from Abbotsford, . said she thought
■
99
By MARY J'ENKINS
The Idaho Statesman
People sometimes ask 28- year -old
Kathy Dodson if she finds her work
depressing — even though being ad-
ministrator of the Old Penitentiary is
an impressive title.
She always answers no — even
after talking with former inmates,
who occasionally come back to visit
the place where they spent part of
their lives.
She is interested in their recollec-
tions, because a history of the institu-
tion is being compiled. It will cover
the years since it opened in 1870 until
it closed in 1973.
"It's amazing, the way they feel,"
Dodson said. "Some bring relatives
with them. They aren't bitter, even
though some have extremely tragic
stories ... but they probably devel-
oped the best friendships they ever
had when they were here.
Administrator brings new faces to old peg
"One man is writing a book, and he
wrote asking for photographs of the
place in 1955 when he was here," she
said.
Instead of 13E: ing depressed by her
working environment, Dodson re-
gards it as a challenge — planning
the restoration of the old prison
(some buildings are already fin-
ished), doing it on a limited budget,
and promoting it as an educational
site for public enjoyment.
The facility, located northeast of
downtown Boise, is owned by the
State Land Board and administered
by the Idaho Historical Society. It
was closed as a prison 6 years ago,
when the inmates were moved to the
new correctional institution south of
Gowen Field.
Dodson already has learned from
the public that it likes to imagine
what life was like inside those old
walls.
About 2,000 visitors a month walk
by the death row cells, see the wo-
men's ward, go into the solitary con-
finement building, peer through the
window at the old gallows.
"It's a side of life many of them
know nothing about," she said. "We
want to have new and quality ways to
educate them. We stay unbiased on
how they may feel about the penal
system."
The tours at present also include a
small museum inside the administra-
tion building and two slide shows
about the history of the prison and its
most notorious inmates. Included in
the glass cases in the museum are
common tools that prisoners made
into weapons for use in escape at-
tempts.
Dodson, a graduate of Black Hills
State College in South Dakota, has
been at the Old Penitentiary for all of
her working life.
She started as a secretary, then
became an education specialist.
When administrator Fred Walters
gave notice last year, she applied for
his job and got it. Her permanent
paid staff consists of two curators
and a maintenance man. Other work-
ers are hired through various govern-
ment programs.
Dodson described a typical work-
ing day as a "never ending puzzle,
never routine. It could cause my hair
to go gray before my time.
"If I'm not working with a curator
on a display, I could be wondering
what to do with a roof falling in."
The last Legislature appropriated
$24,000 for the maintenance of the 27
buildings on the property, including
the old horse barns and the ware-
houses.
"We also have allotted money,
which means if we make it, we can
ha%* it ", she said That money from
tour admissions ($125 for adults and
$1 for children) goes for developing
the plans she and two curators have
in mind.
"No state money goes for dis-
plays," she said.
One professional organization is
lending a hand for an exhibit that is
not particularly associated with
prison history.
An offer by the Institute of Elec-
tronic and Electrical Engineers to
set up a display on the history of elec-
tricity in Idaho was accepted and the
exhibit will open soon in the former
prison library.
Next year Dodson hopes to start an
historical vehicles museum in an-
other building. Far in the future is
the development of the whole site as
an historical park complex. Included
in that will be the Bishops House,
across the street from the Old Peni-
tentiary. Its restoration has been in
progrLi5s for several years.
idministrator brings new faces to old penitentiary
)ne man is writing a book, and he
to asking for photographs of the
:e in 1955 when he was here," she
istead of tieing depressed by her
king environment, Dodson re-
fs it as a challenge — planning
restoration of the old prison
ne buildings are already fin -
d), doing it on a limited budget,
promoting it as an educational
for public enjoyment.
he facility, located northeast of
Intown Boise, is owned by the
e Land Board and administered
the Idaho Historical Society. It
closed as a prison 6 years ago,
n the inmates were moved to the
correctional institution south of
uen Field.
odson already has learned from
public that it likes to imagine
1 life was like inside those old
Is. �
About 2,000 visitors a month walk
by the death row cells, see the wo-
men's ward, go into the solitary con-
finement building, peer through the
window at the old gallows.
"It's a side of life many of them
know nothing about," she said. "We
want to have new and quality ways to
educate them. We stay unbiased on
how they may feel about the penal
system."
The tours at present also include a
small museum inside the administra-
tion building and two slide shows
about the history of the prison and its
most notorious inmates. Included in
the glass cases in the museum are
common tools that prisoners made
into weapons for use in escape at-
tempts.
Dodson, a graduate of Black Hills
State College in South Dakota, has
been at the Old Penitentiary for all of
her working life.
She started as a secretary, then
became an education specialist.
When administrator Fred Walters
gave notice last year, she applied for
his job and got it. Her permanent
paid staff consists of two curators
and a maintenance man. Other work-
ers are hired through various govern-
ment programs.
Dodson described a typical work-
ing day as a "never ending puzzle,
never routine. It could cause my hair
to go gray before my time.
"If I'm not working with a curator
on a display, I could be wondering
what to do with a roof falling in."
The last Legislature appropriated
$24,000 for the maintenance of the 27
buildings on the property, including
the old horse barns and the ware-
houses.
"We also have allotted money,
which means if we make it, we can
havlq it ", she said That money from
tour admissions ($125 for adults and
$1 for children) goes for developing
the plans she and two curators have
in mind.
"No state money goes for dis-
plays," she said.
One professional organization is
lending a hand for an exhibit that is
not particularly associated with
prison history.
An offer by the Institute of Elec-
tronic and Electrical Engineers to
set up a display on the history of elec-
tricity in Idaho was accepted and the
exhibit will open soon in the former
prison library.
Next year Dodson hopes to start an
historical vehicles museum in an-
other building. Far in the future is
the development of the whole site as
an historical park complex. Included
in that will be the Bishops House,
across the street from the Old Peni-
tentiary. Its restoration has been in
progress for several years.
•Kathy Dodson
PAGE 6
THE IDAHO STATESMAN, Boise, Monday, September 17, 1973
Idaho Yesterdays
Money Lack
Stalled Cells
By ARTHUR A. HART
Director, Idaho Historical
Museum
Getting new buildings
erected at the Idaho State
Penitentiary was sometimes
a difficult and frustrating
task for the wardens. The
very first structure of stone,
dedicated on July 4, 1870,
was privately contracted. It
was completed on time and
within the appropriation, but
this was not typical.
The building that really
turned out to be a nightmare
was the new cell house au-
thorized by the legislature in
1899 during the adminis-
tration of Warden John Hail -
ey.
In his 1900 report, Hailey
noted that the Board of Pris-
on Commissioners had not
supplied him with the neces-
sary plans for more than
seven months after he was
ready to start work, but that
he had had his prison crews
quarry, haul, and cut a large
amount of stone for the proj-
ect anyway.
Actual construction began
in August, 1899.
Warden Hailey would
probably have worried less
been able to forsee the
dreary road ahead for the ill -
fated cell house. Architect
John E. Tourtellotte's plans
called for a structure of
sandstone 40 x 183 feet, bro-
ken into central and north
and south blocks.
Every warden from Hailey
on complained over the next
few years that the work al-
ready done was "totally use-
less" until enough money
wasappropriatedto finish the
job.
The south block, made up
of 72 double cells and eight
single, was "nearly" ready
foroccupancyin 1906 — seven
years after it was started. It
still lacked a north wall
(where the central and north
sections would be added),
hence could not be occupied.
Warden E. L. Whitney
asked the prison com-
missioners to please decide
whether the new north wing
would have all -steel cells or
a combination of stone and
steel, since he needed to
know before proceeding with
the work. He also urgently
requested sufficient funding
to get the south wing closed
in and useable.
A MONEY PROBLEM — The "nearly" complete south, obsolete and was never finished because of lack of funds.
wing of the Idaho State Penitentiary, top photo, became Bottom photo shows completed north wing and the never -
finished south wing being torn down.
Two years later Warden
Whitney still didn't have his
new cell house ready for oc-
cupancy. The problem was
the same — not enough mon-
ey to buy and install steel
cells.
The warden asked that the
prisoners be given this use-
ful employment, and that
masonry construction be
used as in the still unoccu-
pied south block.
Incredibly enough, the
warden's report for 1910
starts out with the same old
lament: "The construction
of this building was com-
menced many years ago and
a great many dollars have
been expended without the
completion of any part of it
for occupancy ..."
This fact, the warden con-
tinues, made him determine
to spend the entire 1909 ap-
propriation for roofing in
and completing the north
wing, which he had done.
Since the never - occupied
south wing was "antique, al-
though of but recent con-
struction," the report recom-
mends that it be torn down
at once, the iron sold, and
the stone used for a new
barn.
One of the reasons the
warden found the jinxed
south wing antiquated was
his obvious pride of the forty
"Pauly Jail Company's Mod-
ern Steel Cells, with the lat-
est sliding door and locking
device." This apparatus still
stands in the cell house
where it was installed more
than sixty years ago.
If present plans for con-
verting the old penitentiary
into a state historical park
are carried through, visitors
will be able to shop, dine,
and browse through the his-
toric buildings, including
this one that took eleven
years to complete.
Oh yes — the south wing
was torn down before it was
ever used, the stone was
used to build a handsome
barn (still standing), and
eventually a new south wing
just like the north one was
finished.
Our photos show the proj-
ect in two different stages of
its agonizing development.
Idaho Penitentiary cell house
built in 1889 to expand facility
Like most penitentiaries, Idaho's
has had growing pains from the be-
ginning. When the first stone build-
ing was built at the foot of Table
Kock in 1870, most people thought it
would satisfy the needs of Idaho Ter-
ritory for generations to come.
A dozen territorial prisoners made
up the first group transferred from
the county jail at Idaho City in 1872,
and as late as 1882 there were only 26
convicts at the lonely spot two and a
half miles east of town.
By June of 1887, however, there
were 64 prisoners in a space barely
large enough for 40, and there was a
clamor to get the federal government
to build a second cell house as soon as
possible. The second cell house,
begun in 1889, when there were 81
prisoners, is still one of the architec-
tural gems of the picturesque Old
Idaho Penitentiary. The story of its
building is today's subject.
James King, Boise's only profes-
sional architect in 1889, joined the
building committee at the site "to
look into the proposed improve-
ments," according to The Statesman.
"We understand that Mr. King is of
the opinion that the appropriation is
not large enough to do what ought to
be done to make the building first
class in point .of security and general
healthfulness."
By July of 1890 the rugged sand -
stone walls were completed, and we
can only assume the architect King
figured out a way to work with the
budget available. These walls are cer-
tainly thick enough to solve his secu-
rity concern, but sanitation facilities
in this and many later buildings at
the Old Penitentiary were woefully
crude. Convicts had only individual
buckets but there was plumbing for
drinking water and washing.
Local contractors Milleman &
Paynton, tinsmiths, began the task of
building a sheet metal mansard roof
on the new cell house in July 24,
1890. This work was completed a
week later. The federal contracts, let
before Idaho came a state on July 3,
1890, were still in effect until the
building was completed, but plans
were made at once to employ prison-
ers in future construction at the peni-
tentiary. Close confinement without
useful work was bad for health and
morale, and an 1892 Statesman story
said that as a result "a large percent-
age of the convicts now in the `pen'
are more or less crazy ... .
Eight plumbers were at work on
the building on Aug. 8, 1890, putting
in the steam lines, radiators, and "a
large Herbert magazine base steam
heating furnace" from St. Joseph,
Mo.. The iron cells also came from
Missouri, with the foreman of the St.
Louis manufacturer on hand to
I
upervise their installation. The
water supply came from natural
springs in the hills above the peniten-
tiary, and a reservoir was planned to
allow constant pressure and a suffi-
cient supply to irrigate such crops as
might be planted to make the prison-
ers partially self- sustaining.
When the new building was for -'
mally accepted by the U.S. govern-
ment on Dec. 1, 1890, it could not be
occupied immediately because the
two additional guards needed to man
it had not yet been funded. Gov.
George Shoup addressed the needs of
the penitentiary when the Legisla-
ture gathered on Dec. 9, 1890, recom-
mending that prisoners be put to
work quarrying stone on the prison
property and building "a massive
wall" around the prison yard and
buildings.
He also recommended that a cen-
tral main building be placed between
the new structure and the 1870 cell
house. This was never built, but the
pattern of ,prison labor was esta-
blished which would be in effect for
many years. Quarrying and stone-
cutting were the principal skills de-
veloped at the Idaho State Peniten-
tiary.
(Mr. Hart is director of the
Idaho Historical Society.)
I
M�f"<?.�
Development plans sought for old pen land
By CHARLEY BLAINE
The Idaho Statesman
The Idaho State Historical Society
on Wednesday will urge local real es-
tate developers to submit proposals
to develop Old Pen Place, the land
surrounding the old Idaho Penitenti-
ary.
Arthur Hart, director of the Histor-
ical Society, will outline the Histori-
cal Society's thoughts on develop-
ment at the old penitentiary at a
press conference beginning at 9:30
a.m. at the Administration Building
Auditorium, 2455 Old Penitentiary
Road.
The Historical Society hopes de-
velopers will rehabilitate and lease
out a number of historic buildings at
the penitentiary site. The society
wants to retain the architectural de-
sign, historical integrity and public
use of the site, which is listed in the
National Register of Historic Places.
The master plan for the 500 acre
site, approved by the State Land
Board in 1977, calls for an equestrian
center, corrals, a show ring, an arte-
sian hot springs spa, athletic and rec-
reation compound and a camp-
ground.
The Historical Society has set four
goals for the development of the Old
Penitentiary property:
• Continued development of the
compound into a "unified multiuse
facility for the benefit of the public."
• New uses for the site that would
add diversity and new amenities to
the area.
• Historic preservation and exte-
rior restoration of significant land-
mark buildings.
• A maximum return to the state
for the lease of the property, given
the constraints of historic preserva-
tion.
T—A m. Cob..nnr.. Z 4nol
This drawing of the proposed Old Pen Place shows the arrival point viewed toward the Administration Building
Kathleen Dodson, administrator of
the development project, said the
Historical Society wants to see clus-
ters of activities that would include a
restaurant, offices and retail space
just outside the walls of the peniten-
tiary museum and adjacent to the
restored Bishop's House.
She said an incentive to developers
is that about 23,000 people a year
come out to the site to tour the old
Penitentiary and might be tempted
to look into the other activities in the
area.
The buildings available for lease
include the old warden's house, the
guard house, the trustee building, the
dairy barn, the horse barn and out-
buildings.
The Bishop's House, which has
been restored and is rented out to
parties and for offices on its upper
floors, is not to be included in the re-
quest for proposals.
According to a booklet that the
Historical Society put out on the pro-
posal request, potential uses for each
building are:
• Old warden's house, built in 1902
specialty shops, gift or antique
shops, tea garden, art gallery or
sports shops.
0 The guard house, built in 1912 —
restaurant on the main floor, offices
on the second floor, pub or deli in the
basement.
• Trustee building, built in 1927 —
offices on the second floor and possi-
ble commercial space on the first
floor.
• Dairy barn, built in 1920 — art
gallery, art shop or studio. The sec-
ond -floor loft could be used as a
movie theater, auditorium or billiard
room.
• Horse barn, built in 1912 —
equestrian center with possible cor-
rals and addtional stables to be built
adjacent to the barn.
• Outbuildings include the 1907
heating plant, which could be turned
into a theater, the 1950 heating plant,
which could be used for office space
or a greenhouse nursery using the
geothermal wastewater in the area,
the root cellar (no use listed) and the
two poultry barns.
Developers will have until 3 p.m.
May 5 to submit proposals for the
area.
FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 1982
Free admission
New transportation museum
opens Saturday at old Pen
Idaho opens its state Transportation Museum Saturday at
the Old Penitentiary, bringing back an era of buckboards,
buggies and horse -drawn stagecoaches.
The new museum is part of the complex of museums at the
state's territorial penitentiary east of Boise off Warm Springs
Avenue.
Festivities at the museum run from noon to 6 p.m., but the
day begins downtown at 10 a.m. when a parade of horse -
drawn vehicles and antique motor cars runs from Julia Davis
Park down Myrtle and Walnut streets and Warm Springs
Avenue to the Old Pen. A ribbon cutting ceremony is set for
11:30 a.m.
Entertainment will include stagecoach rides, puppet shows
at 2 and 4 p.m., a scene from The Rainmakerat 1:30 p.m.,
music at noon and 3 p.m., square dancers at 5 p.m., fiddlers,
blacksmith and stonecutting demonstrations, hot dogs, ice
cream, cotton candy and balloons and a calliope.
Admission will be free to the Old Pen, Bishops' House,
Transportation Museum, Electricity in Idaho Museum and
the Idaho Southern Model Railroad Club exhibit.
By ARTHUR A. HART
. Director,
Idaho Historical Museum
Idaho's old penitentiary in
the shadow of Table Rock
has a thousand interesting
stories to tell. In addition to
the human drama of the
many individuals whose
lives led them through those
massive sandstone walls,
there is the story of the
building of the old territorial
penitentiary in the first
place.
Even before construction
got started a curious thing
happened: the day after a
committee of the legislature
had selected a site for the in-
stitution in January, 1869, a
prominent Boise merchant
filed a claim on the land and
put up a temporary house on
it. The Statesman was un-
derstandably indignant.
"The party has since asked
why it is that his customers
are deserting him," it said.
"We answer, vacate the
spot, disclaim any intention
to speculate to the great in-
jury of the citizens, and in
the future sin no more
against a people who patron-
ize you, and peace may be
restored."
Apparently the speculator
got the message, because
the site was the one ulti-
mately used. From the be-
ginning, it was recognized
that the place had unique
advantages for a peniten-
tiary: "... water and mate-
rials with which to employ
the prisoners are close at
hand. The rock in this vici -.
nity is of superior quality
and in demand in this city
for building purposes." In
August it was noted that this
would be the first public
building to be erected in Ida-
ho, and that a suitable public
demonstration should take
place.
Thomas Donaldson was
appointed superintendant of
construction, and ran the
first ad for bids on Septem-
ber 18, 1869. Charles May,
the town's leading mason
contractor, secured the work
with a bid of $34,745. Charles
Ostner, carver of Idaho's fa-
mous equestrian statue of
Washington, was second in
the bidding. Robie and Ros-
sie, sawmill operators, were
third. By March, 1870, May
had a crew of men quarry-
ing and cutting stone from
the ridge back of the site.
Ground was broken for the
foundation of the single
stone building on April 2. "A
general attendance of every
age and sex is requested in
order that all may view the
commencement of an edifice
that may some day be their
home, and even the wisest
knows not how soon," wrote
the editor of The Statesman.
A contract for the iron to be
used in the cells was let to
Corbett, Millard & Co. of
Portland that same month.
At 6 p.m. July 4, 1870, the
cornerstone was laid. Many
mementos and documents
"relating to the early settle-
ment of our territory and
town" were enclosed in a
metal box "so that future
generations will know who
and what their ancestors
were." The box was opened
a century later and its con-
tents displayed at the Idaho
State Historical Museum. It
will someday furnish a fasci-
nating permanent exhibit at
the old penitentiary if it can
be developed as a state his-
toric park.
In the 50 years that fol-
lowed, the Idaho State Peni-
tentiary was to be greatly
expanded and improved
from that first building.
Hundreds of convicts
learned the stonecutter's
trade and built their own
walls, towers, and buildings
of all kinds. By the turn of
the century the complex was
already one of the most im-
pressive examples of stone
architecture in the West.
Ladies and gentlemen of the
prison staff could play tennis
in green park -like surround-
ings amid fine new build-
ings. Old Table Rock looked
serenely down as it does
now, indifferent to the many
human dramas enacted at
its feet.
PAGE 8B THE IDAHO STATESMAN, Boise, Monday, October 25, 1976
Jail Management
In Early Times
Lacked Expertise
The management of jails left
a great deal to be desired in
early Idaho, as reading the
pages of the Tri- weekly States-
man confirms.
We picture today a man who
knew more about the inside of
Boise jail cells for a generation
than any other prisoner. As the
town drunk, "Hogan the Stiff"
was hauled off to jail with
monotonous regularity. If the
city marshal didn't get him, a
county deputy sheriff did. Ada
County Sheriff Joe Daly is
shown with poor Hogan in this
picture.
Hogan made jail history, we
are told, when Boise's first pad-
ded cell was created especially
to keep him from self -injury
while in one of his pitiful fits of
delirium tremens.
Jail conditions in Hogan's day
were far from ideal, but they
had been a lot worse earlier. In
October, 1871, a grand jury in-
vestigated the county jail and
found it "sadly in need of re-
pairs on the west end.
"The structure is such that in
stormy weather the rain beats
into the building and runs down
into the cells, making them very
wet and uncomfortable_" Inter-
estingly, the jury reported that
there had been no complaint by
any of the prisoners and that
"the jail is apparently well
kept."
Judge Milton Kelly, publisher
of The Statesman in the 1870s,
was a frequent advocate of jail
and prison reform in his editor-
ials. He attacked the condition
of the county jail in May, 1876,
calling it "a wooden box," "not
safe," and "a dismal odious
place ... so dark that prisoners
cannot even see to read by
daylight."
The darkness may have been
Idaho
Yesterdays
By Arthur Hart,
an advantage, however, to a
stage robbery suspect named
Scott. In July, 1876, be had been
allowed to have his banjo in his
cell to pass the time. He took a
steel hoop off the instrument,
knicked the edges into a saw
blade,cut his way through a
foot -thick log, and escaped.
A general philosophy that
prisoners did not deserve to be
made too comfortable is shown
by the fact that the county jail
did not get its first bunks until
October, 1891. The report of this
improvement noted simply that
"hitherto prisoners have slept
on the floor, which was destruc-
tive of the bedding and adverse
to its cleanliness."
The number of escapes from
early jails can be attributed to
two things — flimsy construction
and inadequately trained and
underpaid jailers. One man of-
ten worked a 12 -hour shift
guarding a dozen or more dan-
gerous law- breakers.
As late as 1894, Boise did not
hesitate to reduce its police
force and cut salaries because
of bad times, even though this
left only one jailer and one night
officer to cover the whole city.
The chief of police explained the
reduction in the jailer's salary
to $45 a month by saying that
the city now had an electric
light bill to pay at the jail.
(Mr. Hart is director of the
Idaho Historical Society.)
`HOGA.N THE STIFF' WITH SHERIFF JOE DALY
... Hogan was Boise's 'resident jail expert'
Old prison
shows off
new face
By LINDA FUNAIOLE
The Idaho Statesman
Visitors to the Old Idaho Peni-
tentiary off Warm Springs
Avenue can get a glimpse of
prison life and personalities
through various displays
completed at the historic com-
pound last summer.
Three displays in the re-
novated women's section of the
prison depict some of Idaho's
famous women criminals and
their activities. One display in-
cludes photographs of several
women prisoners and brief de-
scriptions of their crimes,
which ranged from stealing a
ham to white slavery. One
woman prisoner was convicted
of rape and incarcerated for al-
lowing her 13- year -old daughter
live with a man.
Another display shows how
women prisoners spent their
time and a third describes
Idaho's Lady Bluebeard — Ly-
da- Dooley- McHaffie- Lewis -Mey
er- Southard — who was con-
victed of killing several of her
husbands.
Kathy Dodson, interim mu-
seum curator, said the displays
were researched and designed
by a summer intern from the
University of Idaho. Other work
at the women's compound in-
cluded repainting and replaster-
ing of the walls and ceilings and
recreation of one cell.
A tape- recorded message
done in the first person, photo-
graphs of wardens, and old
prison records on display in the
warden's office give visitors in-
sights into the daily operation of
the historic prison. Finished in
August, the display also in-
cludes fingerprinting equipment
and photographic equipment
used to take mug shots.
Dodson said a new display de-
scribes the Bertillon System of
Identification, which was used
to measure all parts of a prison-
er's body.
A trail up to the old prison
rock quarry also was completed
last summer, Dodson said.
-4
Workers from the Youth Con-
servation Corps cleared the
way for the 3,200 -foot trail,
which takes about 30 to 40 mi-
nutes to complete, Dodson said.
She said benches are set along
the way and eventually a sun
shelter will be built.
Brochures will cost 10 cents
and will describe the rock
quarry area, Dodson said.
Generating the most excite-
ment at the old prison site, Dod-
son said, are efforts at restoring
the Bishop's House. "One thing
that we're real proud of is that
there's a lot of work being done
on the Bishop's House," she
said.
Renovation is being done by
members of the Young Adult
Conservation Corps, with sup-
port from the Friends of the
Bishop's House, Dodson said.
She estimated that the work
would be completed within
three months. "We feel that in
that amount of time the house
can pretty well be finished," she
said. "We're hoping it will be
open sometime this winter."
Volunteers also have been
planning the landscaping of the
area around the house, Dodson
added.
The museum curator said in-
terest has been expressed in
turning the prison's multipur-
pose building into a carriage
museum, but added that nothing
has been done yet. "It will hap-
pen," Dodson said. "I just don't
know when."
She said a transportation fair,
with hot air balloons and buggy
rides, is a possible fund - raising
idea. "I don't think it will take
that much money to get that
building in shape," she said, es-
timating that about $37,000
would be needed to transform
the multipurpose room into a
carriage museum.
Dodson said interest also has
been expressed in starting an
equestrian center at the old pe-
nitentiary. "The equestrian cen-
ter is something we're really
going to look for," she said. "I
or
think it will attract a lot of peo-
ple here."
Other projects in the works at
the prison site on the eastern
edge of Boise are an electrical
museum and renovation of rest -
rooms, Dodson said.
The museum curator said
items made by prisoners at the
new Idaho Penitentiary, includ-
ing belts, keychains and wallets,
are on sale in the old prison's
museum office.
More than 1,500 persons vis-
ited the prison during Septem-
ber, Dodson said, adding, "I feel
like if we can keep that up for
the winter, we'll be doing real
well."
LONG AND HAPPY "SECOND LIFE "?
The cornerstone for Idaho's first
territorial prison building was dedi-
cated on July 4, 1870. The building is
still there. The federal government
built a new cell house at the peniten-
tiary in 1889. It is still there, too.
Idaho's historic antique penitentiary
was largely built by convicts, of stone
they quarried themselves in the hills
nearby. It has changed little in general
appearance since the 1890's, when a
rugged administration building with a
cathedral tower, a large dining hall,
and a high stone wall with turrets were
completed.
This complex of historic and archi-
tecturally significant buildings will be
declared surplus as soon as the last
prisoner is moved to the new peniten-
tiary south of Gowen Field. What
happens then should be of great
interest to all Idahoans, who share
ownership of these buildings.
Development of a State Historical
Park at the old penitentiary is pro-
posed by the Idaho Historical Society
and the Idaho Parks and Recreation
Department. They feel that the old
prison can become an outstanding asset
to the state, yielding income as well as
recreational and cultural benefits for
many years to come. Their plans en-
vision adaptive use of the sturdy and
picturesque stone buildings, turning
them into fine shops, restaurants, and
offices. They would use private capital
to develop and rehabilitate the varied
spaces available into an exciting histori-
cal shopping center like those in other
western cities. Denver has its Larimer
Square, Salt Lake City its Trolley
Square, and Seattle its Pioneer Square
— all lively and profitable develop-
ments that show the way to preserve
historic buildings by making them
income - producing. Continued state
ownership would be possible under
lease agreements.
One reason such historic squares
have been successful is very simple: the
American people have shown that they
like the mood, flavor, and atmosphere
of historic buildings for leisure hour
dining, browsing, and shopping. Call it
nostalgia if you will — it is a real
factor in the remarkable economic suc-
cess of such developments across the
country. When taking their visitors out
to dinner, most people seek out a
"show- place" that is different. They
especially like a place that reflects the
history of the community.
A cultural attraction in Idaho's old
penitentiary, in addition to the striking
buildings themselves, will be the his-
toric displays. Objects and photographs
will tell the human story of the men
who lived and died there — both con-
victs and lawmen. Idaho's most famous
frontier marshal, Rube Robbins, for
example, brought many a badman to
the old prison, and late in life was the
warden. Diamondfield Jack Davis,
notorious convicted murderer in Ida-
ho's range wars, was brought here to
be hanged, although eventually freed
when others confessed. Harry Orchard,
who assassinated former Governor
Steunenberg in 1905, spent the rest of
his life in the old prison, refusing the
freedom offered him in his old age.
Death row, the gallows, and the
dungeon called "Siberia," are also still
there to be seen, but basically the old
pen will become a warm and lively
Expands Production
Idaho State Penitentiary Prison In-
dustries has expanded its production of
office furniture since moving to the
new prison site.
Prison Industries manufactures a
complete line of office furniture, in-
cluding chairs of all types, a full line
of quality desks, conference tables and
office accessories.
A complete line of traffic signs is
also available.
Price lists and catalogues are avail-
able from
Prison Industries
P. O. Box 7309
Boise, Idaho 83707
place where visitors come for a happy
hour or two of exploring, shopping, or
dining.
Recreational opportunities abound
in the land around the old walls.
Natural hot springs make possible a
fine year -round swimming facility.
Groves of big old trees offer an excel-
lent site for camping or picnicking.
Nature trails and scenic overlooks are
plentiful, including a spectacular view
of the valley from the top of Table -
rock Mountain. Parking for hundreds
of cars can be screened by the stone
walls and by groves of trees.
Surely the old territorial peniten-
tiary has a long and happy "second
life" ahead when developed into one
of Idaho's chief attractions — educa-
tional, profitable, and fun.
RIVERSIDE PLAZA
SHOPS OPEN IN
BLACKFOOT AREA
Six businesses opened their doors at
Blackfoot's new Riverside Plaza, a $2.8
million project with tenants investing
nearly $8 million on interior work.
Harold's Square, handling all kinds of
men's, women's and children's cloth-
ing, dry goods and yard goods, is the
largest, occupying 26,000 square feet.
Sears, Roebuck and Company
employs 16 people, selling appliances
and carpeting, in addition to operating
a catalogue department.
Thriftway Drug is being managed by
J. Grant Fillmore.
Also open for business are Jensen
Jewelers, HVC Value Center and Stan
and Jerry's Western Wear.
NEW DEVELOPMENT REVIEW
AMMON: Skidmore Construction
Company is developing a 263 -acre
housing development to be known as
Comore Loma.
BOISE: The Collister Shopping
Center added 20,000 sq. ft. and five
new stores ... Other new construction
includes a $900,000 International
Dunes Motel and Restaurant ...
$100,000 for a new Elmer's Steak
House at 6767 Fairview ... Glen
Blaser is building an $87,000 office
building at 897 Park Boulevard ... A
10,000 sq. ft., $130,000 Tupperware
Distribution Center is a new addition
to the Boise Industrial Park.
CALDWELL: A $1.75 million
building project has been approved for
the new junior high school ... Just
completed is a $320,000 addition to
the high school ... Phase I, $1.7 mil-
lion, of a total of $3.7 million project,,
will house a new Canyon County
Court House facility ... Happy Day
Ford will open a new 31,000 sq. ft.
facility.
COTTONWOOD: A new $30,000
office building will house Vincent B.
Hattrup, C.P.A.
DRIGGS: Big Valley, an Ohio cor-
poration, has acquired controlling
interest in the Grand Targhee Resort.
DUBOIS: Clark County voters
approved a $150,000 bond issue,
which was added to $70,000 on hand,
for the purpose of building a new
county court house.
HAILEY: The Hiawatha Hotel was
purchased by Stan Rice and Gary Sul-
livan of Boise ... Tom Nash bought
the Liberty Theatre, now Liberty
Productions, Inc.
HOMEDALE: A $500,000 Idaho
Telephone Company facilities project is
completed.
IDAHO IMAGE is published bimonthly by the
Idaho Department of Commerce and Development,
Room 108, Capitol Bldg., Boise, Idaho 83720.
Second Class Postage Paid at Boise, Idaho, under
Act of March 3, 1879. Printed in Idaho, U.S.A.
CECI L D. ANDRUS, Governor
LLOYD D. HOWE, Executive Secretary
KEN STEARNS, Administrative Assistant
DORINE GOERTZEN, Information Specialist
ADVISORY COUNCIL
J. F. Bedingfield, Soda Springs; Vernon W. Butler,
Orofino; Don Cooper, Boise; Alex D. Creek, Idaho
Falls; Alvin H. Ricken, Pocatello; Ray Rostron,
Twin Falls; John C. Porter, Rexburg and Kyle M,
Walker, Coeur d'Alene.
IDAHO FALLS: Solitude Sports,
specializing in cross country skiing,
backpacking and mountaineering equip-
ment, has been purchased by Ed
Anderson and Ernest Nieschmidt ...
Value of the National Reactor Testing
Station is placed at $524.5 million ...
Thomas Grain and Livestock Company
has its newly built seven silo grain ele-
vator now in operation ... Western
Wholesale and Supply, Inc., a major
supplier of roofing products and
building materials, is building new
facilities in the Railroad Industrial
Park.
Rangen Opens New
Bean Facility
Rangen, Inc., of Buhl, has opened a
new quarter of a million dollar bean
facility, located at the old Sumner
Sand and Gravel site.
The new plant includes two clean
mills, two gravity standards, plus the
latest air dust filter which meets all
federal regulations. A new truck dump
has been constructed.
The company will process its own
beans, as well as do custom cleaning.
Each lot can be milled separately with
a total capacity of over 150 bags per
hour.
The plant began operation in early
September and employs 10 people.
JEROME: A 64 -unit motel is being
considered for Jerome, according to
Bert S. Mitchell, representative of the
Innkeepers Company.
LAPWAI: Vincent Little is the new
superintendent of the North Idaho
Indian Agency.
LEWISTON: Tonkin Oil Company
has been sold to Ernie Grimm ... The
new 40,000 sq. ft. Skelton's, a floor
covering and home decorating center,
held a grand opening ... Mr. and Mrs.
Richard H. Anderson are the owners of
a new 87 -unit Travelodge presently
being constructed ... The Sheep Shop,
a leather goods specialty shop, opened
at 621 Main in the Lewiston Mall ...
The production of presto logs by the
Potlatch Corporation has resumed ...
Western Cedar Company mill at Santa,
Idaho, was purchased by Potlatch Cor-
poration.
MERIDIAN: June 25 is the opera-
tion date set for the new $6.5 million
liquid natural gas facility.
POCATELLO: Idaho State Univer-
sity is having constructed a new
40 -unit student apartment complex ...
The Idaho State Journal will expand
its facilities with a $40,000 addition
... The "Pocatello Mall Shops" in the
Grand Central Shopping Center are
estimated to cost $300,000 ... A new
reading center in the Raymond Park
neighborhood will cost $25,000 ...
The city sewer system will undergo a
$3,247,000 expansion.
REXBURG: A remodeling project
of $283,143 is being undertaken at the
Madison County Court House.
ST. ANTHONY: The new River-
view Inn, a 32 -unit facility, recently
opened.
SALMON: Work has begun on a
new $78,241 Child Development
Center.
SODA SPRINGS: First Bank and
Trust of Idaho recently opened a
newly remodeled facility.
STANLEY: Well over $1 million is
being spent on sewer systems at
Stanley and Redfish Lake.
WENDELL: This city's $200,000
sewer system project is underway.
2nd Class
Vol. 17 No. 4 Postage Paid
At Boise, Idaho
83720
12 T 0000026250
VELMA L SHOEMAKER SEC
CHAMBER CF CCMMERCE
MCCALL AREA
P U BOX D
MCCALL. IDAHO 83638