CDCR History
CDCR California prison history explores the stories of the people, places and programs that shaped the current state penal system. Within the CDCR History category, there are two sub-categories. The Unlocking History series uses extensive research culled from historical records while CDCR Time Capsule republishes historical documents as originally written.
Correctional Officer Charles H. Jolly gave up his first career as a grocer after a devastating fire destroyed the Folsom...
Read More About Officer Jolly walked toughest beat for 33 years
Tiburcio Vasquez, an outlaw who plundered Central and Southern California for two decades, may owe his capture to a long...
Read More About Notorious bandit’s fate tied to failed Army camel corps
From the days of the first prison ships, CDCR has adapted to incarcerate females sentenced to state prison. Originally housed...
Read More About Photo Timeline: California Institution for Women
To help stabilize San Quentin, Governor John Weller, Lieutenant Governor Joseph Walkup and Secretary of State Ferris Forman in 1858...
Read More About 1858: San Quentin’s first Rules for Convicts issued
Warden Clinton Duffy in 1942 raised eyebrows when he hired the first black correctional officer at San Quentin State Prison....
Read More About Warden Pulley guided two prisons through tumultuous times
San Quentin State Prison is the oldest state correctional facility in California and Richard "Dick" Nelson has made it his...
Read More About Retired AW Nelson keeps prison history alive
Long before California state prisons established Investigative Services Units or the Office of Correctional Safety, staff used the tools and...
Read More About San Quentin undercover probe foils deadly 1891 plot
When inmates were received at state prisons, physical characteristics were noted as well as the inmate's occupation. An 1887 report...
Read More About Amalgamators, button makers and vaqueros: Jobs lost to time
In 1874, the Joint Commission of the Senate and Assembly reported on the condition of the State Prison at San...
Read More About 1874 SQ report: School, library, rehabilitation
There was little difference in clothing worn by custody staff and inmates during the 1850s at San Quentin. Over the...