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The Unlocking History series uses extensive research culled from historical records while CDCR Time Capsule republishes historical documents as originally written.
Just outside the granite walls of Folsom State Prison is the Big House Museum, boasting a collection rich in corrections...
Read More About Folsom Prison’s Big House Museum preserves history
Editor’s note: In our ongoing effort to highlight staff from the department’s past, we salute Gladys Vasso and Eleanor Dieter....
Read More About From the archives: Meet Gladys Vasso, Eleanor Dieter
Tucked away in a dusty archival box, Inside CDCR came across multiple photographs of a doll dressed as a correctional...
Read More About 1987: Correctional officer doll wins at county fair
On March 22, 2010, Terri Gonzalez became the first female warden at California Men's Colony (CMC). At the time, she...
Read More About Terri Gonzalez was first female warden at CMC
Originally published in February 1985, this piece looks at the history of the California Rehabilitation Center (CRC), republished here as...
Read More About CRC History: From resort to hospital to prison
Juneteenth, the holiday marking when enslaved people in Texas learned they were free, came nearly two months after the Civil...
Caring for pets is one way to teach people how to be responsible while also offering companionship, whether inside or...
In this installment of Unlocking History, Inside CDCR takes a closer look at teachers and vocational instructors who made a...
In the 1920s, a teenage girl, a mother's murder, and jazz music made headlines when they converged in San Francisco....
A tale of confidence men, swindlers, and a clairvoyant crime ring are part of the historical fabric of San Quentin....
Read More About San Quentin and the case of the clairvoyant crime ring