Montana State Prison

Representative John N. Rodgers introduced HB Memorial 7 in December 1866 that sought federal funds for a territorial penitentiary in Montana. In January 1867 funding was approved and the penitentiary opened in Deer Lodge in July 1871. It was relinquished to Montana Territory in 1873, and taken over by the federal government once again in 1874. The penitentiary became a state institution in 1889, when Montana achieved statehood.

The state contracted with former prison guard Frank Conley and Colonel Thomas McTague to operate the penitentiary from 1890 to 1908, with Conley as warden. In 1909 the state hired Conley as warden, a position he held until 1921. Conley instituted an extensive trusty program in which many prisoners worked outside the prison walls. Prison work crews built roads in western Montana and constructed buildings at the Montana State Hospital for the Insane and the Montana State Tuberculosis Sanitarium, as well as making many improvements to the prison itself. In 1921 Governor Joseph Dixon initiated an investigation of Conley's alleged use of state monies for personal gain; this investigation led to Conley's dismissal.

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