Women's Prison History

From 1880-1941, female inmates were housed in Concord in the South Wing of the new building. In 1941, the legislature authorized the transfer of female offenders to other states, specifically to the Women's Reformatory in Rutland, Vermont. Up until that time, there were never more than six female inmates in the state's custody. On November 28, 1941, the last female inmate was transferred out of New Hampshire. On July 30, 1967, the Women's Reformatory closed.

From 1967 onward, most New Hampshire sentenced women were sent to the Massachusetts Correctional Institution in Framingham. During the 1970's, some females were also housed in county jails. Later some are housed in the Manchester Community Correction Center.

During the 1980's, concerns arose about the inadequate conditions for females at the other facilities as well as concerns by females about being so far away from their families and loved ones. Issues arose regarding programming opportunities for incarcerated females. A group of female offenders won a lawsuit, which required the state to locate a prison for women in New Hampshire. Initially, the department explored the possibility of renovating a building at the former Laconia State School for the housing of female offenders. That did not come to pass.

In 1988, the Department of Corrections entered into a lease agreement with the Hillsborough County Commissioners to modify a facility in Goffstown, which would be vacated by 1989 upon completion of a new county facility in Manchester. Surplus capital funds from the major construction projects of the 1980s at the men's prison were used to renovate and upgrade the Goffstown facility to appropriate security standards. The women have been housed at this facility since. In 2007 the Department entered into an agreement to house 36 females at the Strafford County House of Correction in Dover to ease overcrowding.

In 2013, the Legislature appropriated $38 million to construct a new 224-bed women's prison. It will be located in Concord, New Hampshire. Construction is scheduled to conclude in 2017. In July 2015 the the facility was renamed the New Hampshire Correctional Facility for Women to better reflect its overall mission.