State Prison Inmate Records
Digital Archives
About the Collection
Inmates in the Utah Territorial Prison, later Utah State Prison, were documented in register books upon admission and with photographs. The registers begin in the 1870s with organization by prisoner number starting in the 1880s. These numbers are then associated with inmate identification photographs kept separately . In addition, a set of photographs was organized by type of crime, perhaps for a study. These records were kept as the prison moved from the Sugarhouse area to Draper in 1950s, though this collection is limited to generally private records that are now available to the public after 75 years.
Records digitized in partnership with Ancestry.com. You may access them online at "Utah, U.S., State Prison Records, 1875-1947." You may also contact us for copies of specific individual records from the collection.
Department of Corrections. Inmate Services Prison commitment registers
These logs are used to record information when an inmate is first admitted to prison. Personal information includes inmate's name, physical description, religion, education, birthplace, and occupation. Beginning in 1889, a photograph of the inmate accompanied this information. Criminal information includes the crime, sentence, discharge date, and prison record.
State Prison Inmate identification photographs
This series contains identification photographs of state prison inmates. The inmates are usually identified by prison number but in some cases where a number is not available, by name. The series also contains a box of unknown photographs. These photographs do not have a number or name. The dates for photographs in boxes 1-5 are estimated dates, ca. 1890-1925. The photographs in boxes 5-8 range from 1950-1968. The date is listed on the photograph.