MONROE — Convicts set up chairs, tended to the landscaping and then went back to their cells.
For them, the 100th anniversary of the Washington State Reformatory wasn’t exactly a happy occasion.
“I think in general, most would not see a whole lot of reason to celebrate,” superintendent Scott Frakes said.
That didn’t keep about 150 other people from marking the occasion, however. Prison employees and dignitaries stood outdoors on a rainy Wednesday to rededicate the reformatory’s cornerstone, originally laid on May 28, 1910.
While the Monroe Correctional Complex is today home to five separate units, the celebration stayed focused on the prison’s oldest building, the reformatory.
Originally conceived by the state Legislature in 1907 as a place for first-time offenders, the reformatory now houses about 740 medium-security prisoners.
The building has affected more than the lives of convicts in the past century.
Darlene Setzer, 76, of Monroe, remembered working there for about one year in the 1950s. She took dictation as a secretary.
“It was a big addition to Monroe,” she said. “It brought employment here.”
Corrections officer Brad Waddell, 50, also was in the crowd. He ended his shift at 6 a.m., but returned to the building in uniform with his parents, wife and daughter.
“I just wanted to see it,” he said. “It’s phenomenal how the structure and architecture has held up.”
Indeed, the brick building, with its stone columns and high windows, looks like it was lifted out of a state capital. Frakes suspects it will be in Monroe for years to come.
“It is an example of one of our facilities in America that was built to last for the ages,” Frakes said.
Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455; arathbun@heraldnet.com.
The Washington State Reformatory over 100 years
1907: Gov. Albert Mead signs a bill on March 9 to create a prison in Snohomish County.
1910: The cornerstone is laid on May 28 for the Washington State Reformatory.
1934: Superintendent George Roup begins a 12-year term, issuing booklets to inmates that begin, “Don’t whine, don’t whimper. Act like a man and bear your troubles patiently.”
1953: The first major riot occurs at the prison. More follow in 1961, 1979 and 1980.
1981: The Special Offender Unit, a new complex, joins the reformatory and expands the prison’s footprint.
1996: The Monroe prison is annexed into Monroe’s city limits.
2007: The Intensive Management Unit, the prison’s fifth and most recent complex, opens.
2010: The Washington State Reformatory marks its 100th anniversary on May 5 by rededicating the cornerstone.
Source: Monroe Correctional Complex
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