Day Seven: Deer Lodge

On Thursday, we left Missoula and headed to Dillon to start our journey home. About halfway between Missoula and Dillon, we stopped in Deer Lodge to tour the Old Montana Prison. We had stopped there once before when I was eleven or twelve, but didn't tour the prison. I had forgotten all about it, until I was listening to the Ghost Investigators of Utah on the radio last Halloween. They were telling experiences they have had, and playing EVPs. It was really creepy! Then they started talking about one of the scariest EVPs they've had and it was from the Old Montana Prison in Deer Lodge. Well, right then and there I decided that we would be taking that tour on this trip.

The prison was built mostly by inmate labor, and was opened for "business" in July of 1871. Believe it or not, it was in operation until 1979. Wild, huh?






This is one of the corner turrets where the guards stood watch.















This is the main cell house, built in 1912.









There are many areas of the prison compound that are reportedly haunted. One of the areas is around the cell of "Turkey Pete". He was convicted of murder, and lost it while he was in prison. The guards indulged his ideas, because it was easier that way, and he didn't cause any trouble for them. He had checks printed up at the prison, and he "purchased" the prison. He even wrote checks to the guards and staff to pay their wages!



This is a picture I took of Turkey Pete's cell. I can't explain the bluish haze in the lower left section. It was not showing on the screen when I took the picture.











The EVP I heard on the radio was from "The Hole", which was solitary confinement. I can't remember it exactly now, but it was a really scary voice saying something like "get out".




This is outside one of the solitary confinement cells in "The Hole". Notice the white glow at the top of the door. There was nothing in there to reflect the light, so I'm not sure where it came from...you decide!








The last part of our self-guided tour was the W.A. Clark Theater. It was built in 1919, and was gutted by fire in 1975. The fire was set deliberately, presumably to cover up evidence of a murder in there, but no charges were ever filed. The "haunting" story about this building is that sometimes guests smell the acrid odor of smoke and charred wood so overwhelming that their eyes water and they have to leave the building. This is odd considering the fire was over 30 years ago. I was in the theater by myself and when I was in the center of the room, I definitely caught a smoke/fire smell. It wasn't super strong, but it was noticeable.



This is me standing outside the theater. (In case you can't tell, I'm the little white dot in the center of the picture.)