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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 Unlocking History uses extensive research culled from historical records while CDCR Time Capsule republishes historical documents as they were originally written.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 castle like building surrounded by overgrown trees.

1920s farm was early gender‑responsive rehabilitation

More than a decade before the California Institution for Women received its first residents, the state created the first reformatory...

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Mugshots of San Quentin inmate Frederick Charles Beck.

Behind the photo: Frederick Beck spirals into 1891 prison stint

An old saying claims a person's eyes are the windows to the soul. Archival photos of those convicted of crimes...

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Woman sitting at desk with California seal in the background.

Retired CCWF Warden Celestine ‘Teena’ Farmon passes away

Spanning a correctional career of more than three decades, retired Warden Celestine 'Teena' Farmon passed away July 18, 2021.

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Dirt road lined with small cabins. Inset over the top is a woman in a hat with numbers at the bottom.

1913 case of incarcerated mom ends in pardon thanks to parole officer

The 1913 Ruby Bartol case was scrutinized by the governor, attorney general, and warden. Years later, her parole officer helped...

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A correctional officer sits in a pickup truck while speaking into a CB radio.

Photo Timeline: 80 years of service for California Institution for Men

The fourth facility in the California state prison system opened 80 years ago. The institution was geared toward people who...

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Preston castle has banners and the flag waving for the Fourth of July.

Preston School of Industry regularly marked patriotic holidays

California began seriously focusing on incarcerated youth when officials laid out plans in 1890 to construct a job-training school. The...

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Three people open a time capsule at a ceremony marking 75 years.

Correctional Training Facility marks 75 years of service

Correctional Training Facility (CTF) recognized their 75th year of operations with a ceremony in the memorial garden of institution grounds...

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Early female prison staff supervised women at San Quentin, like in this early courtyard image.

Early female prison staff ranged from support to custody

The first female correctional officers were hired to work in California's male prisons in the early 1970s. But, women have...

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A female correctional sergeant and female cadets.

1987: Department publication highlights need for females in corrections

Revisit this 1987 story originally published in Correction News. -- When Daniel J. McCarthy first became a correctional officer in...

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Woman sits in an office near flowers.

Inspiring Hope: Female volunteers help incarcerated population

Since establishing the state prison system in the 1850s, good-hearted neighbors have voluntarily stepped inside to help the incarcerated population....

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