The Wisconsin State Reformatory at Green Bay was created under Chapter 346, Laws of 1897, and first occupied in the summer of 1898. It came under successive supervision of the State Board of Control, 1898-1938; the Division of Corrections in the State Department of Welfare, 1939-1967; and the Department of Health and Social Services, 1968-1989. In July 1979, the State Reformatory became the Green Bay Correctional Institution.
Inmates of the institution were males between the ages of sixteen and thirty who were first offenders and were convicted of a felony other than first or second degree murder. The institution's programs emphasized rehabilitation rather than punishment. Inmates attended classes in academics, carpentry, cabinetmaking, plumbing, tailoring, blacksmithing, granite cutting, painting, auto repair, and farming. Inmates were also employed in prison industries to produce brooms, overalls, and construction materials. New inmates were placed in the “second grade.” Inmates who maintained a good record were promoted to the “first grade” after six months and were eligible for parole after ninety days at that grade.
