Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Montana Department of Institutions records, 1894-1994
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Montana. Department of Institutions
- Title
- Montana Department of Institutions records
- Dates
- 1894-1994 (inclusive)18941994
- Quantity
-
4.75 linear feet
2 volumes - Collection Number
- RS 235
- Summary
- This collection consists of Montana Department of Institutions records from the Pine Hills Correctional Facility (Miles City), State Vocational School for Girls (Helena), the Swan River Youth Forest Camp, and the Women's Correctional Center (Warm Springs).
- Repository
-
Montana Historical Society, Library & Archives
Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT
59620-1201
Telephone: 4064442681
Fax: 4064445297
mhslibrary@mt.gov - Access Restrictions
-
Most of the materials in this collection are open for research. Some of the materials within specific series are restricted. See the note at the series level for more information about the specific nature of the restrictions.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Historical NoteReturn to Top
The Montana Department of Institutions was formed in 1935 to "restore the physically or mentally disabled, to rehabilitate the violators of law, to sustain the vigor and dignity of the aged, to provide for children in need of temporary protection or correctional counseling, to train children of limited mental capacity to their best potential...and to coordinate and apply the principles of modern institutional administration to the institutions of the state."
The Montana Department of Institutions functioned as the administrator of Montana state institutions providing care and rehabilitation to state residents requiring institutional care including: the Montana Children's Center, the State Soldier's Home (Montana Veterans Home), the State Hospital (Warm Springs State Hospital), the State Training School and Hospital (Boulder River School and Hospital), the State Industrial School for Boys (Pine Hills School), the State Vocational School for Girls (Mountain View School), Montana State Tuberculosis Sanitarium (Galen State Hospital), the State Prison, the Eastmont Training Center, the Division of Mental Hygiene, the Swan River Youth Forest Camp, and the Montana Center for the Aged.
In 1992 the department was renamed the Department of Corrections and Human Services. In 1995 the name became the Department of Corrections. The oversight of the Warm Springs Hospital was transferred to the Department of Public Health and Human Services, while the Department of Corrections retained oversight of the Montana State Prison, Montana Women's Prison, and Pine Hills Correctional Facility.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
This collection consists of materials created by and relating to the various correctional facilities overseen by the Department of Institutions including Pine Hills Correctional Facility, the State Vocational School for Girls, Swan River Youth Forest Camp, and Montana Women's Correctional Center. These records include financial records, minutes, organizational materials, reports and subject files. Most of the records for Pine Hills and State Vocational School document the day-to-day operations of the facility. The Swan River materials consist of an architectural report and educational brochure, while the Women's Correctional Center materials focus primarily on remodeling on the Warm Springs campus, and planning for a new facility.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases, permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright holders. For more information, contact the Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives.
Preferred Citation
[Name of document or photograph number], Montana Department of Institutions records, RS 235, [box and folder number]. Montana Historical Society, Research Center Archives, Helena, Montana.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The materials in this collection are arranged by the creating office and are divided into four series. Series 1 is further organized into two subseries based on type of record.
Series 1: Pine Hills Correctional Facility, 1894-1994 and undated
Subseries 1: Correspondence, 1908-1964
Subseries 2: Additional Records, 1894-1994 and undated
Series 2: State Vocational School for Girls, 1924-1966 and undated
Series 3: Swan River Youth Forest Camp, 1976 and undated
Series 4: Women's Correctional Center, circa 1981-1991
Location of Collection
Acquisition Information
These were acquired via a series of transfers from the Montana Department of Institutions. More detailed information about individual transfers is available upon request.
Separated Materials
Photographs and printed material have been transferred to the Photo Archives and the Library, respectively.
Related Materials
The Montana Historical Society holds the records of the Montana Territorial and State Prison, Warm Springs Hospital, and the State Tuberculosis Sanitarium that contain additional information about the Department of Institutions. Contact the Research Center Archives for details.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Series 1: Pine Hills Correctional Facility, 1894-1994 and undatedReturn to Top
In 1893, the state of Montana established the State Reform School, which was located on the site of the old Women's Reformatory two miles east of Miles City. IN 1894, the school opened and served any sane boy or girl aged 8 to 21 who had committed any crime except murder or manslaughter, or who, "for want of proper parental care is growing up in mendicancy, or vagrancy, or is incorrigible." The children had to be committed by a court and remained at the school until granted parole on account of good behavior or until they turned 21. The school was governed by a local board of trustees of three members appointed by the governor and was under the daily supervision of a male director in charge of the boys and a matron in charge of the girls. The children attended classes in the morning and worked on the school farm. In later years, the older students learned a trade, while the younger helped with chores. In 1915, the institution was renamed the Montana State Industrial School, and by 1921, all of the female students had transferred to the Vocational School for Girls in Helena.
In 1951 a Board of Education investigating committee reported poor conditions and abusive methods at the school. The president was replaced, less coercive methods put into practice, and the curriculum revised. In 1953 an executive board was created. It consisted of five members appointed by the governor for four years and had "immediate direction and control other than financial of the affairs of the State Industrial School," subject to the State Board of Education. In 1967, the school was renamed the Pine Hills School, then later the Pine Hills Correctional Facility.
This series contains records created by the Pine Hills Correctional Facility.
Other Descriptive InformationReturn to Top
Some of the records in this series are restricted due to the presence of student grades, conduct information. Restrictions are listed at the item level.
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Subseries 1: Correspondence 2 linear feet
The materials in this series are arranged alphabetically by topic when feasible.
This subseries contains correspondence produced by the State Industrial School.
|
1908-1964 | ||
Box | Folder | ||
1 | 1 | American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees Local #441 1 folders
|
1958-1960 |
1 | 2 - 3 | Athletics 2 folders
|
1922-1955 |
1 | 4 | Attorney General 1 folders
|
1908-1929 |
1 | 5 | The Boys' Messenger 1 folders
|
1924-1929; 1955 |
1 | 6 | Budget 1 folders
|
1959-1963 |
1 | 7 | Commitments, Inquiries regarding 1 folders
|
1917-1922 |
7 | 1 | Commitments, Terms of 1 folders
RESTRICTED
|
1912-1917 |
7 | 2 | Commitments and parole commitments 1 folders
RESTRICTED
|
1940-1941 |
7 | 3 | Courts 1 folders
RESTRICTED
|
1927 |
1 | 8 | Arthur C. Dorr, president 1 folders
|
1920-1930 |
1 | 9 | Employment of school children outside of
school 1 folders
|
1916-1927 |
1 | 10 | Farm 1 folders
|
1913-1951 |
1 | 11 | Governor of Montana 1 folders
|
1919-1948 |
1 | 12 | Health care 1 folders
|
1912-1951 |
2 | 1 - 2 | Institution 2 folders
|
1916-1962 |
2 | 3 | Instructors 1 folders
|
1914-1920 |
2 | 4 - 6 | Interoffice correspondence 3 folders
|
1914-1964 |
2 | 7 | Irrigation 1 folders
|
1917-1923 |
2 | 8 | Legislature and appropriations 1 folders
|
1927-1928; 1941 |
2 | 9 | Liquor permits 1 folders
|
1925-1930 |
2 | 10 | Samuel R. McCleery, president 1 folders
|
1942-1943 |
3 | 1 | Miscellaneous state agencies 1 folders
|
1916-1918 |
3 | 2 | Montana Department of Public Welfare 1 folders
|
1952-1953 |
3 | 3 | Montana Orphans' Home; School for the Deaf and
Blind; State Hospital 1 folders
|
1923-1930 |
3 | 4 | Montana State Board of Education 1 folders
|
1912-1956 |
3 | 5 | Montana State Board of Examiners 1 folders
|
1908-1922 |
3 | 6 | Montana State Fair 1 folders
|
1911-1921 |
3 | 7 | Montana State Fish and Game Commission 1 folders
|
1941 |
3 | 8 | Montana State Vocational School for
Girls 1 folders
|
1919-1928 |
3 | 9 - 12 | Movies 4 folders
|
1913-1949 |
7 | 4 - 5 | Parole officers 2 folders
RESTRICTED
|
1916-1947 |
3 | 13 | Prison associations, charity groups, women's clubs,
etc. 1 folders
|
1916-1922 |
7 | 6 - 8 | Probation officers 3 folders
RESTRICTED
|
1923-1940 |
4 | 1 | Questionnaires and inquiries 1 folders
|
1921-1943; 1956 |
7 | 9 | School census 1 folders
RESTRICTED
|
1912-1920 |
7 | 10 | Testing and grading 1 folders
RESTRICTED
|
1923-1939 |
4 | 2 | United States Marine Corps 1 folders
|
1953 |
4 | 3 | Youth for Christ 1 folders
|
1952-1953 |
4 | 4 | Youth guidance councils and homes 1 folders
|
1952-1953 |
Subseries 2: Additional Records 1.25 linear feet
The materials in this subseries are arranged by record type when feasible.
This subseries contains other records produced by the State Industrial
School--budgets, reports, inventories, legal documents, etc.
|
1894-1994 and undated | ||
Volume | |||
1 | Descriptive List of Minors Received at State Reform
School 1 volumes
|
1894-1896 | |
2 | Inmates discharged from State Reform
School 1 volumes
|
1894-1896 | |
Box | Folder | ||
4 | 5 | Budget 1 folders
|
1939-1943 |
4 | 6 | Expense ledger 1 folders
|
1894 |
4 | 7 | Salaries 1 folders
|
1911-1912 |
4 | 8 - 9 | Board of Education (in the matter of Carl
Horn) 2 folders
Pages 1-59 and Part II, pages 168-380, only
|
1951 |
4 | 10 | Joint Investigating Committee to Investigate the
Montana State Industrial School at Miles City report 1 folders
|
1953 |
4 | 11 | Joint Investigating Committee to Investigate the
Montana State Industrial School at Miles City transcript 1 folders
|
1993 |
4 | 12 | Administrative Committee minutes 1 folders
|
1953-1958 |
5 | 1 | Local Executive Board minutes 1 folders
|
1962-1963 |
5 | 2 | Organizational charts and personnel
lists 1 folders
|
1949-1961 |
5 | 3 | Position descriptions 1 folders
|
1951 |
8 | 1 | Conduct reports 1 folders
RESTRICTED
|
1955-1964 |
5 | 4 | Reports of the State Industrial School to the State
Board of Education 1 folders
|
1934-1963 |
5 | 5 | Reports of Information for the Governor's Committee
on Reorganization 1 folders
|
1941 |
5 | 6 | School accreditation 1 folders
|
1951-1954 |
5 | 7 | Building inventory 1 folders
|
1922-1925 |
8 | 2 | Student correspondence list 1 folders
RESTRICTED
|
circa 1940 |
8 | 3 | Cash-on-hand of boys 1 folders
RESTRICTED
|
1937-1940 |
5 | 8 | Entertainment programs 1 folders
|
1915-1947 |
5 | 9 | Girls demerit book 1 folders
|
1902-1906 |
5 | 10 - 11 | Menus 2 folders
|
1913-1964 |
5 | 12 | Menus for the "short-ration" table 1 folders
|
1913-1914 |
8 | 4 | Parolees 1 folders
RESTRICTED
|
1942-1945 |
5 | 13 | Custer County Health Department report on school's
sanitary conditions 1 folders
|
1951 |
5 | 14 | Report to the Montana State Board of Education on
the State Industrial School 1 folders
|
1951 |
5 | 15 | Supply inventory 1 folders
|
1924-1926; 1941-1943 |
5 | 16 | Miscellaneous records 1 folders
|
1914; 1928; 1914; undated |
8 | 5 | Transcript of statements concerning conditions at
Montana State Industrial School 1 folders
RESTRICTED
|
1951 |
Series 2: State Vocational School for Girls, 1924-1966 and undatedReturn to Top
In the 1917 Legislative Assembly a bill, supported by the Montana Federation of Women's Clubs and the Good Government Club, requested a separate school for girls. The bill failed, but was reintroduced in the 1919 session and passed. The primary function of the school was to be "the care, education, training, treatment and rehabilitation of girls ten (10) years of age or older and under twenty-one (21) years of age who were committed to the school by a court as provided by law." In April 1920, six girls were transferred to the newly built Vocational School for Girls outside Helena. The last girls were transferred from Miles City to Helena in 1921. In 1967, the school was renamed Mountain View School, and in 1996, it ceased operation.
This series contains records created by the State Vocational School for Girls.
Other Descriptive InformationReturn to Top
Some of the records in this series are restricted due to the presence of student grades, conduct information. Restrictions are listed at the item level.
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box | Folder | ||
6 | 1 | Correspondence 1 folders
|
1931-1945 |
6 | 2 | Staff payroll 1 folders
|
1931-1933 |
6 | 3 | Bond for Blanche D. Walker 1 folders
|
1940 |
6 | 4 | Board of Education minutes 1 folders
|
1932-1948 and undated |
6 | 5 - 6 | Quarterly and annual reports 2 folders
|
1924-1948 |
6 | 7 | Report on building repair 1 folders
|
August 21, 1944 |
oversizebox | |||
OS 9 | Population movement ledger 1 boxes
RESTRICTED
|
1966 | |
Oversize Folder | |||
OS 9 | 1 - 5 | Attendance records
RESTRICTED
|
1960-1965 |
Series 3: Swan River Youth Forest Camp, 1976Return to Top
In July 1968, the Swan River Youth Forest Camp began operations. Located in the 39,000-acre Swan River State Forest, the camp served as a minimum-security correctional facility for young law offenders aged 16 to 25, referred by court commitments or the Pine Hills School. In 1972 the Department of Institutions began using the camp for the rehabilitation of felons from the Montana State Prison, up to and including age 25. The camp offered a work program, including forestry, carpentry, mechanics, and camp maintenance. In 1975 an average of 85% of the inmates obtained their GED. By the 1980s, the facility was transferred to private ownership.
This series contains miscellaenous materials about the Swan River Youth Forest Camp.
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box | Folder | ||
6 | 8 | Architectural Specifications by Brinkman & Lemon,
Architects and Engineers 1 folders
|
June 15-16, 1976 |
6 | 9 | Educational brochure 1 folders
|
circa 1970s |
Series 4: Women's Correctional Center, circa 1981-1991Return to Top
Prior 1982, women inmates were housed at the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge, a facility which also housed male inmates. The establishment of the Women's Correctional Center (WCC), located on the Warm Springs campus, was originally authorized by the Montana Legislature as a temporary facility to house a maximum of 30 female inmates. Opened in 1982, the facility was a converted nurses' dormitory. Due to overcrowding, the 1989 legislature directed the Department of Institutions, in cooperation with the Criminal Justice and Corrections Advisory Council, to develop a comprehensive plan for housing adult female inmates and present it to the 52nd legislature. A subcommittee on women offenders was appointed to study the issue. In 1991, based on the committee's recommendations, the legislature passed House Bill 528, which provided financing for a 120-bed facility with support services capable of serving 200 inmates in the future. In 1994, the new Women's Correctional Center opened in Billings, and by 2022, it was officially named the Montana Women's Prison.
This series contains records documenting the establishment of a Women's Correctional Center in Montana.
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box | Folder | ||
6 | 10 | Correspondence 1 folders
|
1989-1991 |
6 | 11 | Expansion budget 1 folders
|
1989 |
6 | 12 | HB 528 and Women's Correctional Facility Site
Selection Committee 1 folders
|
1990-1991 |
6 | 13 | History of the Women's Prison 1 folders
|
1991 |
6 | 14 | Unit 57 conversion to Women's Correctional
Center 1 folders
|
circa 1981 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Correctional institutions--Montana
- Education
- Juvenile delinquency
- Law enforcement--Montana
- Reformatories--Montana
- Vocational education--Montana
- Youth
Corporate Names
- Montana. Department of Institutions
- Pine Hills School
- State Vocational School for Girls (Helena, Mont.)
- Swan River Youth Forest Camp
- Women's Correctional Center (Billings, Mont.)