mcneil island history

The walkway for patrolling officers can be seen on the upper left and right sides of the dining hall.The original programming building stands with construction dating between 1926 and 1936.A view from inside the original programming building.One of the rooms in the original inmate programs building still has sound-proofing wall covering from when it served as a music room.The dairy and ranch operations on the island that offered self-sustaining agricultural products.A view of the Puget Sound from the Superintendent's window.The former multi-purpose community building sits with the former school classroom in the right wing of the building, the community center in the middle, and the chapel in the left wing of the building. The island gained its name in 1841 after boat captain William Henry McNeill, who worked for the Hudson’s Bay Company in what is now present-day DuPont. The original cellblock was demolished and replaced in 1994 with an inmate services building housing a hospital, educational center, recreation room, hobby shop, music room, and gymnasium.In 1993 the balance of the island, 3,119 acres, was deeded to the In April 2011, the oldest prison facility in the Northwest and final island-based prison in the nation was officially closed after 136 years.In 1998, the state legislature authorized the placement of the state’s Source: HistoryLink.org Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History, Early Days on Puget's Sound. Welcome to Our Island. The first of many burials was in October 1905. Front door of the administrative building on McNeil IslandThe original powerhouse/power plant, dating back to the early 1900s, still stands on the island.A 1907 cellhouse remains on the island with the 1920 extension that added a check-in booth for staff.Among the more famed inmates once incarcerated on the island, while under federal control, were Robert "Birdman of Alcatraz" Stroud and Charles Manson.The facility's corridors were used as a setting in the 1989 film "Three Fugitives.

Washington’s need for additional prison space prompted state officials to explore the possibility of acquiring the prison to house state prisoners.In 1981, the state signed a lease with the federal government granting the state use of the penitentiary.

On September 17, 1870, the Federal Government purchased 27.27 acres on McNeil Island for a federal prison, which officially opened in 1875. First woman ever held at McNeil Island facility for violent sexual predators released, living in Spokane History of sexually abusing young children April 27, 2020 4:03 PM By the end of that year, the total prison population was nine.In 1889, Washington was admitted to the Union. McNeill was at Fort Nisqually in 1841 and greeted Wilkes upon arrival in southern Puget Sound. School was held for the first time in 1952-53.Well-known inmates that served at least part of their sentence in the McNeil Island Federal Penitentiary were Robert “Birdman of Alcatraz” Stroud from 1909 to 1912 for manslaughter, and Charles Manson from 1961 to 1966 for federal check forgery.Due to high operational and maintenance costs and needed renovations, in 1976, the Federal Bureau of Prisons declared as “obsolete” the aging federal penitentiary on McNeil Island and decided to begin shutting it down. In April 1981, the Washington Department of Corrections began moving inmates into the newly renamed McNeil Island Corrections Center (MICC). By 1947, the population was 320 inmates. 1981-2011: State Correctional Facility. The island’s name dropped the second “L” with the passage of time and was standardized to simply McNeil. The entire island, roughly seven square miles, was now under federal control. "The Chapel of Mount Tahoma, an interfaith religious center, was built and completed in 1963 by the incarcerated population on the island and funded by the community.The Chapel of Mount Tahoma included a choir loft for participating inmate choir singers.The mural in the common dining hall shows a serene, abstract mountain view. McNeil Island Historical Society (MIHS) promotes preserving the rich history of McNeil Island, WA., through positive use of it's existing structures and wildlife sanctions for the benefit of current and future generations. In November 1874, the penitentiary was placed under the direction of the United States Marshal. The final land transaction in 1940 involved 2,303.1 acres.