25 Brutal Truths About McNeil Island, America's Last Island Prison
Sealed Wards
139 views
136 years. Three governments. One island in Puget Sound. These are the 25 truths the official record would rather you never read.
For 136 years, McNeil Island in south Puget Sound held prisoners for a territory, a federal government, and a state. Most people know Alcatraz. Almost nobody knows the island prison that outlasted it by nearly half a century. Built from marshal records, National Archives photographs, condemnation reports, and federal court orders, this countdown follows outlaws, revolutionaries, draft resisters, and the forgotten families the island swallowed. Number one may surprise you.
đź“š SOURCES AND FURTHER READING
HistoryLink, "McNeil Island and the Federal Penitentiary, 1841–1981"
McNeil Island and the Federal Penitentiary, 1841-1981
HistoryLink, "McNeil Island Corrections Center, 1981–Present"
McNeil Island Corrections Center, 1981-present
HistoryLink, "Roy Gardner, king of escape artists, flees McNeil Island Penitentiary on September 5, 1921"
Roy Gardner, king of escape artists, flees McNeil Island Penitentiary
Washington State Archives, McNeil Island Disinterment Permits Issued April 1938
Washington State Archives, Digital Archives
KNKX and the Washington State History Museum, "Forgotten Prison" podcast series
Episode 5: It Happened Here
National Park Service, "Confinement and Ethnicity: An Overview of World War II Japanese American Relocation Sites," Chapter 18
Park History Program (U.S. National Park Service)
Densho Digital Repository, "Hirabayashi Taken To McNeil Camp," Seattle Times, December 28, 1944
ddr-densho-56-1089
Ricardo Flores MagĂłn, Letter to Harry Weinberger, May 9, 1921
MagĂłn To Harry Weinberger, by Ricardo Flores MagĂłn
University of Washington Libraries, Hulet M. Wells Papers, 1909–1964
Hulet M. Wells papers - Archives West
Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, Turay v. Seling (federal court record)
Turay v. Seling 2:91-cv-00664 (W.D. Wash.) | Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse
ℹ️ ABOUT THIS CHANNEL
This video is made for educational and informational purposes. Our goal is to widen your knowledge of America's institutional history. We build every story from documented sources so you get real, valuable information instead of legend. Where the record is disputed, we say so.
Every script on this channel is written by a human. The visuals and storyboard are also brainstormed and developed internally by our team.
Thank you for being here. Hit subscribe, and every week we will open another sealed ward together.
25 Brutal Truths About McNeil Island, America's Last Island Prison
Sealed Wards
139 views
136 years. Three governments. One island in Puget Sound. These are the 25 truths the official record would rather you never read.
For 136 years, McNeil Island in south Puget Sound held prisoners for a territory, a federal government, and a state. Most people know Alcatraz. Almost nobody knows the island prison that outlasted it by nearly half a century. Built from marshal records, National Archives photographs, condemnation reports, and federal court orders, this countdown follows outlaws, revolutionaries, draft resisters, and the forgotten families the island swallowed. Number one may surprise you.
đź“š SOURCES AND FURTHER READING
HistoryLink, "McNeil Island and the Federal Penitentiary, 1841–1981"
McNeil Island and the Federal Penitentiary, 1841-1981
HistoryLink, "McNeil Island Corrections Center, 1981–Present"
McNeil Island Corrections Center, 1981-present
HistoryLink, "Roy Gardner, king of escape artists, flees McNeil Island Penitentiary on September 5, 1921"
Roy Gardner, king of escape artists, flees McNeil Island Penitentiary
Washington State Archives, McNeil Island Disinterment Permits Issued April 1938
Washington State Archives, Digital Archives
KNKX and the Washington State History Museum, "Forgotten Prison" podcast series
Episode 5: It Happened Here
National Park Service, "Confinement and Ethnicity: An Overview of World War II Japanese American Relocation Sites," Chapter 18
Park History Program (U.S. National Park Service)
Densho Digital Repository, "Hirabayashi Taken To McNeil Camp," Seattle Times, December 28, 1944
ddr-densho-56-1089
Ricardo Flores MagĂłn, Letter to Harry Weinberger, May 9, 1921
MagĂłn To Harry Weinberger, by Ricardo Flores MagĂłn
University of Washington Libraries, Hulet M. Wells Papers, 1909–1964
Hulet M. Wells papers - Archives West
Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, Turay v. Seling (federal court record)
Turay v. Seling 2:91-cv-00664 (W.D. Wash.) | Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse
ℹ️ ABOUT THIS CHANNEL
This video is made for educational and informational purposes. Our goal is to widen your knowledge of America's institutional history. We build every story from documented sources so you get real, valuable information instead of legend. Where the record is disputed, we say so.
Every script on this channel is written by a human. The visuals and storyboard are also brainstormed and developed internally by our team.
Thank you for being here. Hit subscribe, and every week we will open another sealed ward together.