The Old Montana Prison

Montana · United States · Prison

The last prisoners left around 1980. The gallows room and the hole are where the reports concentrate.

The Old Montana Prison at Deer Lodge held men from the 1800s until the last of them were moved to the new prison around 1979 or 1980.

The gallows room produces sounds and a cold presence.

The hole is a small sub chamber containing four or five cells, and the cold in it is described as intense.

Solitary confinement of that kind is worth understanding rather than describing atmospherically. A man in the hole was kept in darkness, in a space too small to lie out in some cases, for weeks. It broke people, which was the point, and it is why the practice is now recognised internationally as torture beyond a certain duration.

The prison was built with convict labour, out of stone the prisoners quarried themselves.

It is open as a museum and runs tours.

FAQ

Where is The Old Montana Prison located?

The Old Montana Prison is in Montana, United States.

Image: Jess Judd / cc by-sa 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons