Deer Lodge & Butte MT
Most of Montana on fire, so changing directions. Instead of going to Glacier National Park (smoke issues) we are going to West Yellowstone for a week.
On our way we stayed the night in Butte. Looking for things to do we read about Deer Lodge. It's a small town 30 miles from Butte - population 3500 in town and 6000 for area.
The old Montana Prison in Deer Lodge is now a museum. It was built out by convict labor starting in 1871. The prison closed in 1979. Famous inmates included at least one member of the Butch Cassidy gang and 2 of the top 3 suspected Zodiac Killer candiadates. Interesting that the main cell house is built on almost the same plan as Alcatraz. It is believed there may be ghosts as 2 men were hanged. They occurred in 1908 & 1909 the inmates that were executed were the ones that killed the deputy warden and attempted to kill the warden by cutting their throats witH handmade blades. The hangings were pretty gruesome - they were a Jerk Up style ( the hanger died by long suffocation rather than instant death by a broken neck)
The prisoners who are approved for "good" behavior are allowed to pursue artistic abilities. The 9 prisons in Montana support this. The Montana state prison has a hobby store that sells these items . The most popular being horsehair braiding. The braiding is intricate taking as much as 4 hours to braid an inch. Each prison had its own style of horse hair braiding ....there are no formal classes. The skill is passed on prisoner to prisoner. Horse bridles can take over a year to braid....and can command $20,000 to $60,000. The prisoners can then send money for their families support. Being a crafter , I bought a key chain fob....definitely not that pricey. I can appreciate the time it takes to complete even a small key chain. And also like that the prisoners have a way to contribute to their families support .
Also attached to the prison museum is a museum housing more than 150 vintage autos...dating from a1886 Benz to newer 1970 muscle cars. They are all in pristine condition. I can only imagine the total values of these autos ( sorry...insurance underwriting habit...how much at risk)
The
After the tours we checked out the Elk Ridge Brewing Company in DeerLodge where "the hunt for a trophy beer ends here". Clever advertising theme as the decor is taxidermy haven of local elks, cougars, moose, mountain sheep. I tried their sampler. The most interesting one and the brewery favorite is COW IN HEAT ( jalapeño cream ale) was surprisingly good it would be great alongside Mexican food and I don't even like beer/ale.
Before leaving the next morning we breakfasted at Gamers Cafe. Great biscuits and gravy. And lucked out that the local farmers market was in the same block. We bought the ABSOLUTE BEST cantaloupe. Looking forward to the sweet white corn and kale. Another wonderful farmers market.
On our way we stayed the night in Butte. Looking for things to do we read about Deer Lodge. It's a small town 30 miles from Butte - population 3500 in town and 6000 for area.
The old Montana Prison in Deer Lodge is now a museum. It was built out by convict labor starting in 1871. The prison closed in 1979. Famous inmates included at least one member of the Butch Cassidy gang and 2 of the top 3 suspected Zodiac Killer candiadates. Interesting that the main cell house is built on almost the same plan as Alcatraz. It is believed there may be ghosts as 2 men were hanged. They occurred in 1908 & 1909 the inmates that were executed were the ones that killed the deputy warden and attempted to kill the warden by cutting their throats witH handmade blades. The hangings were pretty gruesome - they were a Jerk Up style ( the hanger died by long suffocation rather than instant death by a broken neck)
The prisoners who are approved for "good" behavior are allowed to pursue artistic abilities. The 9 prisons in Montana support this. The Montana state prison has a hobby store that sells these items . The most popular being horsehair braiding. The braiding is intricate taking as much as 4 hours to braid an inch. Each prison had its own style of horse hair braiding ....there are no formal classes. The skill is passed on prisoner to prisoner. Horse bridles can take over a year to braid....and can command $20,000 to $60,000. The prisoners can then send money for their families support. Being a crafter , I bought a key chain fob....definitely not that pricey. I can appreciate the time it takes to complete even a small key chain. And also like that the prisoners have a way to contribute to their families support .
Also attached to the prison museum is a museum housing more than 150 vintage autos...dating from a1886 Benz to newer 1970 muscle cars. They are all in pristine condition. I can only imagine the total values of these autos ( sorry...insurance underwriting habit...how much at risk)
The
After the tours we checked out the Elk Ridge Brewing Company in DeerLodge where "the hunt for a trophy beer ends here". Clever advertising theme as the decor is taxidermy haven of local elks, cougars, moose, mountain sheep. I tried their sampler. The most interesting one and the brewery favorite is COW IN HEAT ( jalapeño cream ale) was surprisingly good it would be great alongside Mexican food and I don't even like beer/ale.
Before leaving the next morning we breakfasted at Gamers Cafe. Great biscuits and gravy. And lucked out that the local farmers market was in the same block. We bought the ABSOLUTE BEST cantaloupe. Looking forward to the sweet white corn and kale. Another wonderful farmers market.
AMAZING, actually think the prisoners put to work and really learned something and helped there families to boot......think about it politicians you may learn something from history!!!!! I would like to see that place, interesting. Leave the ghosts there....we have enough here and they are walking the streets.
ReplyDeleteYes, so many places are in fire, it's crazy.
Drive safe.
Be safe! You'll enjoy Yellowstone, though.
ReplyDelete