Historic photo of cellhouse #2 taken about 1912

Above: Mary Allen, #1187.

Right: The "New Cellhouse" at the Old Idaho Penitentiary, ca. 1912. ISHS 68-57.61.

Events/Programs Calendar

March

Special Exhibit!

"Necessary to Isolate: Idaho's Imprisoned Women"

In celebration of Women's History Month, this exhibit highlights female inmates from every region in Idaho! It will offer a special glimpse at the unique women who once called the Old Idaho Penitentiary home. Look for fun scavenger hunts, special tours and lectures all month long!

April

It's National Poetry Month and the Old Idaho Penitentiary is celebrating with our "2nd Annual Caged Inspiration Poetry Contest." Click here for more details and ways to enter your poem!!

For more information about events and programs at the Old Idaho Penitentiary please call 208-334-2844.

Hours and Fees

Hours
Open Daily, Year-Round

Noon - 5pm.

Closed State Holidays*

Last Admission at 4:15pm.

Summer Hours

Memorial Day – Labor Day*

10am - 5pm.

Last admission at 4:15pm.

* We are open on Memorial Day and Labor Day

Admission
$5.00 Adults
$4.00 Seniors
$3.00 Children (ages 6-12)
Discount for groups of 10 or more**
Click here for Site Rental Fees

** To qualify for the group discount visitors must be the ages of 6 and up

Location
2445 Old Penitentiary Road
Boise, ID 83712
Directions: From the intersection of Broadway and Warm Springs Avenue, travel east on Warm Springs for about 1.5 miles then turn left onto Old Penitentiary Road. Please call 208 334-2844 if you have questions.

History and Research

Idaho Territory was less than ten years old when the territorial prison was built east of Boise in 1870. The penitentiary grew from a single cellhouse into a complex of several distinctive buildings surrounded by a high sandstone wall. Convicts quarried the stone from the nearby ridges and completed most of the later construction.

Turn of the century convict. ISHS 1186

Over its century of operation, the penitentiary received more than 13,000 convicts, of whom 215 were women. Spurred in part by conditions that sparked a general riot in 1971 and an even more severe riot in 1973, the inmate population was moved to a modern penitentiary south of Boise and the Old Idaho Penitentiary was closed on December 3, 1973. After the Penitentiary closed in 1973, the site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Begin your visit with our video presentation recalling prison history, notorious inmates, and daily prison life. Once inside the Yard, imagine life in the foreboding sandstone cellhouses, see the contrasting beauty of the historic rose gardens, and view the effects of the 1973 riot. Visit Solitary Confinement, known as "Siberia," as well as Death Row and the Gallows. Exhibits are located throughout the site. Wear comfortable shoes and dress for the day's weather.

RESEARCH: To find prisoner files for a particular Old Pen inmate, please visit our Inmate Catalog and Index!

Visit Boise State University's Idaho Issues Online Spring 2005 issue for special articles about the Old Idaho Penitentiary.

Special Exhibits

Also available at the Old Idaho Penitentiary...

See the J. Curtis Earl Memorial Exhibit. From Bronze Age artifacts to 15th and 16th century swords, from 500 year old firearms to modern automatic weapons, this exhibit shares the story of arms and their relationship to events throughout history.

Browse through the History of Idaho Transportation Exhibit and see historic wagons, a hearse, a Basque sheeherder wagon and the unique Merci Train, a gift from the people of France after World War I.

Education Resources

Download the Old Penitentiary Educational Resource Kit (Adobe format, 336 kb) for more information about interpretive programs for educational groups including pre-visit information, historical information, lesson plans and activities. Or download our Idaho Heritage Education booklet for complete information about Idaho State Historical Society educational programs. (Acrobat format; 1.7 mb.) or view just the Old Penitentiary page.

Lesson Plans for Secondary teachers! These lesson plans were prepared by student interns and are designed to be implemented after students have toured through the Old Idaho Penitentiary:

Inmate Rehabilitation

Death Penalty

Weapons

Old Penitentiary Activity Sheets are now available! Twelve worksheets help educators prepare students for their field trip to the Old Penitentiary. (Acrobat format.)

Inmate Catalog and Index

Today, the Idaho State Historical Society offers unique interpretive programs of this site for educational groups from September through May.

Our interpreters will share stories of notorious prisoners, escapes, and prison life. Your students will hear how inmates quarried the stone and built the prison themselves, and they will gain an understanding of the Penitentiary's place in Idaho history.

Please call 208-334-2844 or e-mail for additional information or to schedule an interpretive program.