Main Street History: Stillwater And Minnesota's First Prison

STILLWATER, MN — One of the first buildings constructed after Minnesota became an official terrority was the Minnesota Territorial Prison, which was later renamed when Minnesota became a state.

Gov. Alexander Ramsey urged the territorial legislature on Sept. 3, 1849, that "there should be proper and safe places of confinement" for prisoners, according to the Saint Paul Police Historical Society.

Up until that point, criminals were held at military posts — including at Fort Snelling — but they often escaped before receiving a formal sentence.

So in the summer of 1850, lawmakers appropriated $20,000 for the first official prison. Stillwater was chosen as the site where it should be built after the villagers of St. Anthony rejected the idea of hosting a prison.

The building was built with stone from the local quarries. The first prison house was completed in 1853, and more were added on throughout the years.

Francis R. Delano, a Massachusetts man who moved to Stillwater, was hired as the first warden.

Though Minnesota now had its own official prison, escapes were still common. In 1856 alone, at least seven men and one woman fled confinement, according to a research article from the Minnesota Historical Society.

Inmates escaped by prying up hallway floors, picking locks, sawing the iron window bars, and digging out holes in the prison walls.

As warden, Delano convinced the local media that it wasn't his fault, but the fault of the building designers. But Delano conveniently left out the fact that there were no night guards at the time, the Minnesota Historical Society notes.

The Minnesota State Prison is perhaps most well-known for housing three members of the Jesse James-Younger gang.

On Sept. 7, 1876, the James-Younger gang tried to rob the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota but were defeated by the townspeople.

James escaped, two other members of the gang were killed, but the Younger brothers — Cole, Bob, and Jim — were captured and sentenced to life in prison at Stillwater.

While in prison, the three brothers founded the Prison Mirror, a prison newspaper that is still in existence today.

Bob Younger died of tuberculosis as a Stillwater inmate, but Cole and Jim were paroled in 1901, notes Ben Phelan of PBS.

The Prison Mirror was co-founded by brothers Cole, Robert, and James Younger, members of the James-Younger Gang who were serving.

The original Stillwater site of the Minnesota State Prison ultimately closed in 1914, and operations were relocated to neighboring Bayport.

Most of the original site was demolished long ago. However, the warden's house was converted into a museum and is run by the Washington County Historical Society.

Learn about visiting the museum here.

What's your favorite thing about Stillwater? Let us know below in the comments!

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