Unlocking History

Explore the history of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Drawing of covered wagons moving across a large valley.

When Gen. James Estell ran San Quentin prison under a contract, he sought tough-as-nails gritty staff with proven records of...

As a young man, Robert Eugene Russell crossed the country with explorer John C. Fremont, helped lead a group of...

Men in suits stand in front of brick walls.

When a music composer landed behind bars in 1915, he put his musical talent to work, assuming a leadership role...

Photo of man in hat and in prison stripes over a check for $22,000.

California prisons have housed and attempted to rehabilitate some notorious offenders such as stagecoach robber Charles “Black Bart” Boles, Richard...

When San Quentin received mail from the east in the 1850s, they probably had John Thompson to thank.

Drawing of people talking through a screen while guard watches.

Visiting has been an important part of rehabilitation, allowing offenders to continue family connections while incarcerated. The experience for friends...

Today’s CDCR transportation units rely on buses and cars traveling over paved roadways, but this wasn’t always the case. When...

Four photos of the same person with a card that says AJ Baker.

Artie "Art" Baker, already three years into a 10-year sentence at San Quentin, had a desperate request for the prison...

Men and women place flowers on gravestones.

The bloody Civil War pit family against family. Some border states' volunteer companies fought on both sides, depending on the...

Photos of an old hotel with sign "Arcadia Bath House" and a picture of dapper man and a woman.

By Don Chaddock, Inside CDCR editorOffice of Public and Employee Communications In 1910, a former inmate wrote words being echoed...

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