Dive Deep Into The History of Alcatraz

Alcatraz Island was turned into a military outpost designed to protect the entrance to the bay from invasion, as it lies at a strategic location facing the open sea. The United States took the island in the Mexican-American War of 1848 and by 1859, after extensive construction and fortification, Alcatraz was the most powerful military fortress west of the Mississippi. It also became home to the west coast's first light house.

Even before it officially became a prison, Alcatraz was used by the U.S. military to hold prisoners because the ice-cold waters and strong currents surrounding it made escape virtually impossible. During the Civil War, confederate sympathizers were sent to Alcatraz. In 1895, a number of Native Americans, particularly Hopis from Arizona, were sent to the island for resisting the U.S. government’s land decrees and educational programs.

Alcatraz Prison: The Early Years

From 1898 onward, the island’s prison population continued to grow, spurred on by the Spanish-American War. In 1907, it was named an official military prison and in 1912, a 600-cell holding complex was completed on Alcatraz (which still stands today) along with a mess hall and hospital to serve it.

In 1933, the U.S. Department of Justice took control of Alcatraz Island and turned it into the nation’s top maximum-security penitentiary. Meant to hold America’s most “incorrigible” criminals, it was retrofitted to be even more secure. Each prisoner had their own cell and there was one guard on duty for every three prisoners—all to make escape impossible.

In many ways, the creation of Alcatraz as a maximum-security prison was caused by a single factor: prohibition. With the outlawing of alcohol in 1920, the United States experienced a crime wave unlike anything ever seen before in the nation's history—and this crime was organized.

Perhaps the most notorious resident of Alcatraz was Al “Scarface” Capone, who served four years here after wardens realized he was still running his Chicago-based crime ring from his prison cell in Georgia. Another famous Prohibition Era gangster, George “Machine Gun” Kelley, served 17 years at Alcatraz on a kidnapping charge. A gangster listed as “Public Enemy Number One” by the FBI, Alvin “Creepy Karpis” Karpowicz served 25 years at Alcatraz, more time than any other inmate.

The Birdman of Alcatraz

No Alcatraz alumni is as interesting as Robert “The Birdman” Stroud. A self-taught ornithologist who kept and studied birds during his time at Leavenworth Penitentiary, Stroud was transferred to Alcatraz after he stabbed and killed a prison guard. Diagnosed as both a genius and a psychopath, he wrote several books about ornithology while in prison, and even discovered a cure for a common avian hemorrhaging disease. 

Burt Landcaster, who personally met with Shroud, depicted his life in the 1962 film “The Birdman of Alcatraz”, available on Amazon Prime, which was based on a book by Thomas E. Gaddis.

In November of 1969, a group of nearly 80 Native Americans, led by Richard Oakes of the Mohawk Nation, took over Alcatraz Island and occupied it for almost two years. Calling themselves the “Indians of All Tribes”, the movement intended to build a school and cultural center on the island, as well as establish a permanent community.

The movement cited the 1868 Treaty of Laramie, which states that abandoned state property can be ceded back to Native Americans. While the Nixon Administration opposed the occupation, it gained widespread support among many Americans, including actor Jane Fonda and rock group Creedence Clearwater Revival, who visited the island and donated money to the cause. However, in June 1971, President Nixon sent federal troops to clear the island and the occupation came to an end.