For 101 years, the Old Idaho Penitentiary was in operation on the outskirts of Boise. Built in 1807, the old pen was the site of 10 executions, 500 escape attempts, women prisoners and some very famous people who spent time behind its walls.
Despite this history there aren’t a lot of pictures of people inside or outside the prison gates.
The Idaho State Archives has prisoner mugshots and a small collection of photos taken inside the prison, but the Idaho State Historical Society is working to uncover new resources, in this case, pictures to tell the complete story of the Old Idaho Pen.
So the old Pen is launching a crowdsourcing project, asking for your help to find pictures that may be in your family collection.
Jacey Brain, Visitor Services Coordinator at the Idaho State Historical Society and Interim Historic Sites Administrator, Anthony Parry joins Idaho Matters to tell us more.
