Old Montana Prison Museum in Deerlodge, Montana

Old Montana Prison Museum

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Inside the prison walls, construction also continued with the building of a women’s prison, additional dormitories for the men, a store building, laundry, and dining room. In 1919, a 1,000 seat prison theater was built with funding donated by Senator William A. Clark, Jr.

Protests from labor unions and security concerns put an end to outside work in the 1920s; however, food production continued at the thirty-thousand-acre prison-owned ranch. Work inside the prison continued in various industries including cobbler and upholstery shops, and a garment industry that made clothes for state wards. A state license plate factory began production in the late 1920’s.

Though Conley’s administration made drastic improvements to the prison, it continually suffered from overcrowding through the decades.

Tiered cells inside the prison, July, 2008, Kathy Weiser.

On April 16, 1959, the prison suffered a major riot when two inmates by the names of Jerry Myles and Lee Smart, Jr. led some 12 inmates in an escape attempt. In the melee, Deputy Warden Theodore Rothe was shot and killed, and Warden Powell was temporarily held hostage. The hostages were held for three days while the riot raged on. After the National Guard was brought in, the two ringleaders died in a murder-suicide, When Myles shot Smart and then turned the gun on himself.

Finally, the old and overcrowded prison was closed In 1979, and its prisoners moved to a new facility, five miles west of Deer Lodge.

Empty of prisoners and standing as a silent sentinel to justice, the Powell County Museum and Arts Foundation obtained the building's lease for use as a museum. After some restoration and the construction of a visitor’s center, the complex reopened in 1980, providing tours to more than 40,000 visitors each year.

Listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, visitors to the museum can take guided or self-guided tours through several of the prison’s buildings, glimpsing the daily life of prison routines. As visitors walk through the intimidating cell houses, Informational signs provide details of prison life where tourists will continue to see original schedules, rules, prisoner artwork, and even moldering blankets on many of the iron cots in its prison cells. More lurid displays show a “Prison Life” photo exhibit, contraband items and homemade weapons; and guns, shackles and restraints utilized on the convicts.

Evidence of a 1959 riot can be seen in the shattered bricks of the west tower, cramped blackout cells can be toured, and the gallows that once hanged capital offenders remain for those of us with a morbid curiosity.

Though guards no longer occupy the turrets in each corner of “The Wall,” nor do the sounds of heavy cell doors sliding shut echo through the buildings, the tour can make even the most hardened visitor welcome their “release” into the grassy center yard.

The Old Montana Prison Museum is just one of several museums sponsored by the Powell County Museum and Arts Foundation. In fact, Deer Lodge, Montana is home to more museums and historical collections than any other town in the Northwest. You can also see the Frontier Museum, Desert John's Saloon Museum and the Powell County Museum, all of which will transport you back to the era of cowboys and the Old West. The Montana Auto Museum features over 120 vintage vehicles, and Yesterday's Playthings is Montana's foremost doll and toy museum. Cottonwood City displays the Snowshoe Creek School and the Blood Cabin.

Evidence of the 1959 prison riot can be seen in this tower at the upper window and roof line, July, 2008, Kathy Weiser.

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Guardtower at the Old Montana Prison Museum,

July, 2008, Kathy Weiser.

Contact Information:

Old Prison Museums
1106 Main St
Deer Lodge, Montana 59722

406-846-3111

Also See:

Desert John's Saloon Museum

The Writing of Jerry’s Riot: The True Story of Montana’s 1959 Prison Disturbance

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