Judging by the costumes of the ladies in the "Then" photo here, as well as the lack of landscaping, we would guess it to have been taken not long after the jail was built in 1911. We'll go with 1915 as the date. Both photos were taken from curbside on Main Street, looking north.
Bozeman became the seat of Gallatin County in 1867 and by 1869 felt the need for a jail, which was built at a cost of $487.50. In 1878 the construction of a new $25,000 courthouse with a basement jail was begun, the project being completed in July of 1881. By 1910 crowding in the courthouse basement jail prompted the Commissioners to proceed with plans for a new jail to be built in the lot immediately west of the courthouse at 317 West Main Street. With a budget of $35,000 the county employed prolific local architect, Fred F. Willson to draw the plans for the building. Though not quite completed by December 2, 1911, the prisoners moved in, some staying longer than 20 days. Though the commissioners described the facilities with pride as “one of the best in the West”, it was only 20 days later that six of the prisoners made an escape, four being caught later, the other two having made good their escape. Rather than continue with the search, the townsfolk instead chalked it up to “good riddance”.
Standing beside the Gallatin County Courthouse, this one time jail was initially linked to the courthouse by an underground tunnel, allowing movement of prisoners between the two in a secure fashion. Architect Willson, never a slave to convention, designed the building in an eclectic style, with battlemented parapets as well as Romanesque arches in the portico. Corbeled bricks are used to accentuate the battlements but otherwise the building is rather austere, save for sandstone lintels and sills at all the windows and sandstone highlights and battlement caps in the portico.
In 1979 the Gallatin Historical Society, founded in 1977, moved into two rooms of the building. With the construction of the new Law and Justice Building in January 1982, the entire building was turned over to the Society to become the Pioneer Museum, renamed the Gallatin County Museum in 2014. Along with jail cells and other "punitive paraphernalia", the original gallows still stands in the museum, used but once, on July 18, 1924, for the
execution of Seth Orrin Danner.
Gallatin County Jail
The red brick structure built in 1911 stands beside the Gallatin County Courthouse as a reminder of the desire for the establishment of permanent local law enforcement institutions that prevailed in the early part of the 20th Century. This period was also a time in which jail reforms were occurring in this country. The jail incorporated some of these features, including separate areas for men, women, and juveniles. The Jail also represents the work of Fred F. Willson, a locally significant architect. Willson freely borrowed, mixed, and modified historic stylistic features in his designs for the numerous public buildings, residences, schools, commercial buildings constructed in the Bozeman area. The use of battlemented parapets as well as the Romanesque arch exemplifies Willson's eclectic detailing during an early period of his career.
The previous jail was located in the basement of the eld courthouse building. This building was constructed in 1880 and was demolished when the present Gallatin County Courthouse building was erected on the same site in 1935-6. An exercise yard was attached to the west wall of the old courthouse. The 10 foot high brick wall which encircled this yard was dismantled and the brick reused in the construction of the new jail in 1911. The isolation cells found in the rear of the new jail were patented in 1874 and had been used in the old lock-up. A gallows was included in the plans and was constructed in the central "jailer's room".
Fred F. Willson, the architect for the Jail, was a Bozeman native who graduated from Columbia University with a degree in architecture. Willson practiced architecture for more than 50 years. During this period, he employed several different styles. The Jail building is one of his early works (he opened practice in Bozeman in 1908). The breadth of Willson's stylistic vocabulary is demonstrated by a comparison of the Jail with his later Art Deco Gallatin County Courthouse building next door. Willson's buildings dot Bozeman and may also be found in Yellowstone Park and Western Montana.
This building has recently been leased to the Gallatin County Historical Society which plans to leave some of the cell blocks in place and open others for museum displays.
From the NRHP Nomination Form