Women in Prison
The Wisconsin Industrial Home for Women
As part of the social reforms of the Progressive Era, it was determined that the state of Wisconsin needed a home for incarcerated women.
The Wisconsin Industrial Home for Women
Planning for a women's correctional institution began in 1911. The first inmates were admitted in 1921. Prior to this female had been kept in the Wisconsin State Prison at Waupun. The Wisconsin Industrial Home for Women was used for females 18-30 who had committed a felony other than murder or any other misdemeanor (Wisconsin Historical Society, n.d.).
Separate But Not Equal
Though women were provided their own prison, they were not provided the same opportunities as men. As you can see in the above image taken from the 1931 Wisconsin Blue Book, the top paragraph pertains to the State Reformatory (a men's institution) where inmates were offered various means of education to better their personal life during the Great Depression. Women were afforded no such means.
Moral Reform? Examinations?
This is a page from the 1921 Wisconsin Blue Book, it shows the objective of the Wisconsin Industrial Home for Women. As well as insight into how women were treated in regards to venereal disease. None of the men's institutions state anything about examinations upon admission.
