History
Explore the stories of the people, places and programs that shaped today’s modern CDCR. Unlocking History uses extensive research culled from historical records while CDCR Time Capsule republishes historical documents as they were originally written.
A mid-1990s report penned by San Quentin Associate Warden Dick Nelson looks closer at the inmate identification numbering system and...
During the 1980s and '90s, California expanded the prison system. The original 12 prisons were supplemented with new facilities ranging...
A piece of art came to Inside CDCR's attention. Originally believed to have been purchased at a San Francisco art...
CDCR's photographic archive often leaves staff with more questions than answers. One such photo is that of First Lady Eleanor...
Correctional Officer Charles H. Jolly gave up his first career as a grocer after a devastating fire destroyed the Folsom...
Tiburcio Vasquez, an outlaw who plundered Central and Southern California for two decades, may owe his capture to a long...
From the days of the first prison ships, CDCR has adapted to incarcerate females sentenced to state prison. Originally housed...
San Quentin State Prison's early years were rife with escapes, attacks and scandal. In 1858, Governor John B. Weller, Lt....
Warden Clinton Duffy in 1942 raised eyebrows when he hired the first black correctional officer at San Quentin State Prison....
Long before California state prisons established Investigative Services Units or the Office of Correctional Safety, staff used the tools and...