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Photo Timeline: San Quentin State Prison

Sketch of San Quentin prison in the 1870s shows a cannon, buildings, water and hills.
This sketch shows San Quentin as it was in the 1870s. (CDCR file photo.)

From the first days of California statehood, the fledgling government wrestled with how to handle those who broke the law.

In January 1851, the Legislature designated county jails to act as state prisons. Later that year, the state acquired the Waban, a ship abandoned by its crew during the Gold Rush.

The ship served as the first official state prison, housing incarcerated men and women at night. They had jobs during the day quarrying stone to build San Quentin’s first cell block, established in 1852.

San Quentin prison: From ship to shore

The first incarcerated person at California’s state prison was Charles Currier. “Inmate No. 1” was received Jan. 25, 1851, aboard Sacramento’s La Grange. He was transferred to the newly acquired Waban in December 1851. (Read the earlier story about the first incarcerated population.)

Drawing of a river, ships full of cargo, and bustling dirt roads and buildings.
An 1849 sketch shows Sacramento’s busy river. A year later, the city would operate a floating jail that briefly served as one of the state prisons.
A ship with a prison on top.
The La Grange served as the Sacramento jail from 1850-61. For a brief time, all county jails acted as the state prison. (California State Library.)
California prison ship Waban at point San Quentin at Corte Madera. The drawing shows people working on the shore.
The Waban served as the prison prior to San Quentin’s activation.
Drawing of a building, long prison walls, a dock and mountain in the background.
San Quentin, circa 1859. (California State Library.)
Inmates in striped uniforms line up while guards stand beside them.
Lining up for dinner at San Quentin, circa 1870s.
Guards and officers stand in front of a new building at San Quentin.
San Quentin officers stand in front of their new quarters, circa 1870s.

Job training became the goal

Early penal institutions around the world focused on incarceration and punishment. The same was said about San Quentin in the beginning. Over time, the mission evolved to include methods of rehabilitation. Early job-training programs involved construction, agriculture and manufacturing. (Read the earlier story about rehabilitation efforts.)

Three men, two of them wearing stripes, work on building a boat. Lumber and rope are scattered about the ground.
Learning to build yachts at San Quentin, 1870s.
Three men build wagons. A brick building with broken windows can be seen in the background.
Manufacturing wagons at San Quentin, 1870s.
Long room with wooden roof, brick wall and piles of lumber.
Building furniture at San Quentin, 1870s. (California State Library.)
A long room with a wooden roof, brick walls and tables full of boots.
San Quentin boot and lace manufactory, late 1800s. (California State Library.)
San Quentin inmates work in a foundry.
San Quentin’s foundry, undated.

San Quentin wardens, 1880-2019

From the 1850s through 1880, those in charge of the prison ranged from contractors to prison directors and the Lieutenant Governor.

The first true warden was Josiah Parker Ames in 1880, a veteran of the Mexican War. He was honorably discharged in Monterey in 1848 and went to work in the mines in Calaveras County. He became a San Mateo County supervisor and state legislator, passing away in 1903.

Prison experience wasn’t a requirement to hold the warden’s post.

James Johnston, appointed warden of Folsom Prison, told the governor he had no experience. Actually, the governor wanted someone with a fresh viewpoint. As San Quentin’s warden, he implemented major changes. After retirement, the federal government tapped him to serve as the first warden for Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary.

Even Johnston’s San Quentin replacement wasn’t an experienced warden. State Printer Frank J. Smith served in the post from from 1925-27.

Warden Clinton Duffy, 1940-51, brought many changes to the prison, furthering the rehabilitative programs of previous wardens.

Warden Harley O. Teets, who saw Duffy as a mentor, served as warden from 1951-57.

“Modern prisons have a duty of trying to improve prisoners committed to their care,” Teets said in 1952. “Our job (is) to rehabilitate (so) when released, he will be a useful member of society.”

Warden pushes to preserve history

Appointed in 1977, Warden George Sumner’s efforts helped preserve the history of the institution.

Two years later, he advocated having a book written about the prison’s history.

“There are relics of great historical value here. I’m trying to make a museum,” he told the Associated Press in 1979. “The history of penology in California has happened right here.”

Below are many of San Quentin’s wardens.

San Quentin Prison warden Josiah Parker Ames.
J.P. Ames, SQ Warden 1880-83.
Sketch of San Quentin Warden Paul Shirley.
Paul Shirley, SQ Warden 1883-88.
Grainy photo of man wearing 1880s clothing. He has a long beard and mustache.
John McComb, SQ Warden 1888-1891.
San Quentin prison Warden Hale with bushy beard and mustach.
William E. Hale, SQ Warden 1891-99.
Photo of man with a man with a large mustache, looking to the right.
Martin Aguirre, SQ Warden 1899-1903.
Newspaper photo of man with mustache.
John W. Tompkins, SQ Warden 1903-06.
Photo of man with big bushy mustache.
John C. Edgar, SQ Warden 1906-07.
Warden John Hoyle of San Quentin in 1910.
John Hoyle, SQ Warden 1907-13
Man with glasses looks at camera.
James Johnston, SQ Warden 1913-24.
Grainy newspaper photo of prison warden Frank Smith.
Frank J. Smith, SQ Warden 1925-27
Man wearing hat and carrying a pocket watch stands in front of prison bars.
James B. Holohan, SQ Warden 1927-36.
grainy newspaper photo of a man wearing a tie.
Court Smith, SQ Warden 1936-40.
Portait photo of man wearing glasses, jacket and tie.
Clinton Duffy, SQ Warden 1940-52.
Man stands in front of the San Quentin Warden's Office.
Harley O. Teets, SQ Warden 1951-57.
Man wearing glasses smiles toward the camera.
Fred R. Dickson, SQ Warden 1957-64.
Grainy photo of man wearing glasses.
Lawrence E. Wilson, SQ Warden 1964-67
Grainy photo of man wearing tie and jacket.
Louis Nelson, SQ Warden 1967-74.
Man wearing vintage jacket and tie smiles at the camera.
Kenneth Britt, SQ Warden 1974-75.
San Quentin Warden holds a phone to his ear.
Robert Rees, SQ Warden 1975-76.
San Quentin Prison warden at desk with state of california logo behind him.
Reginald Pulley, SQ Warden 1982-84.
Woman wearing glasses smiles for the camera.
Jeanne Woodford, SQ Warden 1999-2004.
Man in red shirt and tie stands in front of prison tower.
Kevin Chappelle, SQ Warden 2012-14.
San Quentin Prison warden Ron Davis wears a yellow tie.
Ron Davis, SQ Warden 2015-2019.

Early San Quentin staff

During its early years, the state prison was run by a contractor. After negative news stories were published, he sought to hire former soldiers, hoping they could bring professionalism to the job. Lack of steady pay and loose rules made the task nearly impossible. State officials took over prison operations and instituted the first set of rules for those incarcerated at San Quentin. (Read more about Asa Estes, William Byrnes and Alfred Taliaferro.)

Sketch of San Quentin Prison Captain William Byrnes.
San Quentin Captain of the Mounted Unit, William Byrnes, 1850s.
Photo of man with well-groomed beard and mustache.
Alfred Taliaferro rode with Capt. Bill Byrnes during their time with the Rangers. He was the first SQ doctor, 1850s.
Sketch of man with full beard.
R.E. Russell was a guard at San Quentin. San Francisco Call illustration, 1894.
Newspaper illustration of a man with bushy sideburns and a bow tie.
William Hill was the last moral instructor and first chaplain for San Quentin, appointed 1883.
San Quentin Prison chaplain August Drahms.
Newspaper photo of August Drahms, San Quentin’s chaplain from 1890 until about 1910.
San Quentin doctor Leo Stanley sits in a rocking chair while reading a book.
Dr. Leo Stanley at San Quentin, circa 1915. He was the prison doctor from 1913 until 1951.
San Quentin Prison matron and her husband wearing early 1900s clothing.
Genevieve Smith, SQ Matron, and Richard M. Smith, a prison guard, circa 1912. (Photo from Marin Public Library Anne T. Kent California Room.)
Salvation Army major and San Quentin Prison chaplain hands something to an inmate in the 1930s.
Salvation Army Major Cleve Stairs was a chaplain at San Quentin in the 1930s. (Photo: Salvation Army Museum of the West.)

San Quentin’s early incarcerated population

Notorious stagecoach robbers such as Charles “Black Bart” Boles and Dick Fellows served time at San Quentin State Prison. Other familiar historical names include Griffith J. Griffith, Emma LeDoux, and Jean “Bessie Barclay” Thurnherr. The prison also served a female population before California Institution for Women at Tehachapi was activated in 1933.

Old mugshot of man with bushy mustache and wearing a derby-style hat.
Stagecoach robber Charles “Black Bart” Boles, SQ 1883-1888.
Sketch of James Ledger, burglar.
James Ledger, 19, was sentenced to 30 years in SQ in 1894.
Vintage mugshot of Emma LeDoux.
Emma LeDoux’s 1910 SQ mugshot.
Prison booking photo of Jean Thurnherr with number 23767 written on a board.
Jean Thurnherr, aka Bessie Barclay, 1909.
Man in early 20th century clothing staring at the camera.
J.G. Fleenor was arrested in 1907 and sentenced to San Quentin.
Man with bushy beard wears a hat and stares at the camera.
Dick Fellows, circa 1882, spent nearly 40 years in SQ and Folsom Prison.
Photo of man in early 1900s attire.
J. Wess Moore, SQ, 1900-1908.
Man wearing band leader uniform with a military-style emblem on the hat and the letters SQMB.
Damascus Gallur, SQ, 1915-1929, in his prison band uniform.
Man leans against desk in posed photograph. He's wearing a long coat and bow tie.
Griffith J. Griffith served two years at San Quentin, 1903-1905.
Prison mugshot of Aimee Meloling.
Aimee Meloling, SQ, 1905-1907.
Grainy photo of bearded man with inmate number 25602.
Willard Burke, 1912

Technological evolution

From transportation to communication, San Quentin adapted over time. (Read the earlier story about technological advances.)

A pier and railroad meet at a small island off the shoreline of San Quentin prison.
SQ steamer landing, early 1900s. (Marin History Museum.)
A train rolls along the track near San Quentin prison.
The train at San Quentin, circa 1915.
A steam ship at a wharf, another man walking in front, at San Quentin prison.
Paddlewheel steamer Caroline at San Quentin’s docks, circa 1915. (Marin Public Library Anne T. Kent California Room.)
San Quentin prison officer works a telephone switchboard.
San Quentin telephone system, circa 1930s.

San Quentin’s cemetery

In 1909, incarcerated Civil War veteran J. Wess Moore published a poem about the prison cemetery. He referred to it as “this little spot on this big earth, where sleep the convict dead.” View the earlier story about Moore’s life.

Learn more about those buried in the prisons with the Cemetery Tales series.

A prison cemetery with gravemarkers.
The San Quentin cemetery, circa 1890s. (Courtesy Mike Ahmadi.)
Men and women place flowers on gravestones.
Salvation Army Major Cleve Stairs, volunteers and incarcerated people place flowers near gravestones, Memorial Day, SQ, circa 1930s. (Courtesy Salvation Army Museum of the West.)
A prison cemetery on a hill overlooks the bay.
San Quentin cemetery, undated. (Marin History Museum.)
Two men stand beside open graves.
Two freshly dug graves at San Quentin’s prison cemetery, circa 1890s. (Courtesy Mike Ahmadi.)

By Don Chaddock, Inside CDCR editor

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