Updated October 28, 2009

Index to Inmates 1948-c1975
(596 kb Adobe PDF)

Request an Inmate File  

Questions about Records?

research@ishs.idaho.gov or
208-334-2620 (telephone)

George Cantwell (no. 543) when incarcerated in 1897 and discharged in 1901

Visit the Old Idaho Penitentiary

Over 18,000 inmate files— created by the Idaho State (or Territorial) Penitentiary between 1864 and circa 1975 and now in the custody of the Historical Society as part of the public archives collection— are available for public inspection.  Thanks to a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (affiliated with the National Archives and Records Administration), our staff and volunteers are working to preserve, catalog, and enhance public access to the records and photographs of over 7,500 men and women incarcerated in Idaho between circa 1870 and 1947.  This work began in September 2007, and was completed in December 2008.

Access

See our Researcher Services page for information about how to order photocopies or photograph duplication. 

Access to inmate records is subject to the restrictions and privacy protections of public records law (Idaho Code § 9-335–340C, et seq).  For further information regarding materials that are exempt from public disclosure under Idaho law, please contact us.

Research Benefits

Inmate files offer a wealth of resources, including: 

• Inmates' aliases
  
• Crime and incarceration data
• City, county, and state government documents
  
• Sentencing information
  
• Occupational data for inmates and for local petitioners regarding pardons and paroles
  
• Military service documents
  
• Photographs, including mug shots, family snapshots, civilian portraits
  
• Family correspondence
  
• Business correspondence (e.g., employers, workers' unions, veterans' associations)

Fact Sheets
Using Idaho Inmate Files in the Classroom (PDF)

Pardon petition (1872) on behalf of On Gow, inmate UN1871