about the san quentin museum & archives

In the 1980s, San Quentin Associate Warden Dick Nelson had a vision to preserve the instiution’s history and share it with visitors through artifacts, models, photographs, and stories. On August 7, 1992, the San Quentin Museum opened to the public in an old post office building, with most of the reproductions and models built by inmates. The Museum features exhibits that tell San Quentin’s history from its beginnings in 1852 through its support of the US military during World War II. Today, curator Jeff Craemer runs the musuem, with help from volunteers digitizing and cataloging the extensive archives of photographs, newspaper clippings, ephemera, and much, much more.

Read this informative interview with Dick Nelson about his passion project from the California Dept. of Corrections & Rehabilitation.

Richard "Dick" Nelson, 1937-2021

Would you like to help us at the Museum? We are looking for volunteers!