San Quentin is an historical landmark and one of the best-known locations in the world.
It derived its name from an Indian chief who in 1824 lost an intense battle against Mexican soldiers on the area San Quentin Prison now sits.
After California became a state in the wake of the Gold Rush, capital punishment was adopted in 1851. Initially prisoners slept in a barge anchored in the bay, working in the daytime to build the cellblocks where they would later be locked up.
The Spanish-style entrance building was completed in 1854. Women were incarcerated in the old San Quentin Hospital building from 1856 until 1933. Also serving time with the women was a 13-year-old girl. A state hearing document recorded that guards shared women’s quarters and operated a bar on the prison grounds. There was one case of a woman becoming pregnant.
Capital punishment was implemented into the California Criminal Practice Act of 1851. This was the era when gold fever struck the hearts and minds of those who wanted to get rich quick. Along with this fever came a lot of crime. With no state prison, an investor was hired to operate the prison.
The first people to hold the lease were General James Madison Estell and General Mariano G. Vallejo, the former Mexican governor of California. A 13-year-old merchant vessel named Waban was converted to a barge to hold 40 prisoners. Conditions were so harsh that some inmates jumped into the bay with their chains on to attempt escape.
San Quentin was chosen as the location for a prison because of its proximity to the booming city of San Francisco. California paid $10,000 to Benjamin Buckelew for the property. Before the prisoners arrived, General Estell bought up all the needed land to build the prison.
The first building the prisoners built housed their guards. At that time, many prisoners escaped to nearby Mt. Tamalpais. If a prisoner was captured, he would receive 100 to 150 lashes along with a ball and chain. Lashes were also given out for rule infractions; the amount of lashes would vary according to the seriousness of the infraction. To replace the inmates who escaped, the prison paid $1 a mile for sheriffs to bring prisoners back to San Quentin.
Estell and three investors formed San Francisco Manufacturing Company, using prisoners for labor. The company provided bricks for the buildings at a high price. Estell even sold pardons to inmates. During this time, escapes became a major issue for the prison. Marin County residents claimed that there was a band of outlaws living on Mt. Tamalpais and pilfering nearby communities.
The original prison had 48 cells above the guards quarters. Each cells had a hole in the door. When a prisoner put his nose in it to get some fresh air the cell would become dark.
After numerous complaints and an inspection, the state took over San Quentin on June 1, 1855. This is when prisoners built a wall around the prison using prison-made bricks.
Bricks were a strong source of income for the prison, but when the economy fell so did the demand for bricks. Within a six-month period, the Prison Directors cost the state so much money that the commissioners were forced to ask Estell to take back the prison under a new contract. Because of bad health, Estell passed the keys to John McCauley. McCauley would cut cost by denying inmates necessities along with serving them bad food.
