FPC Alderson
Federal Prison Camp, Alderson (FPC Alderson) is a minimum-security United States federal prison for women near Alderson, West Virginia. The Federal Bureau of Prisons runs it. The camp sits in the Allegheny Mountains, split across Monroe and Summers counties in the southern part of the state.[1]
Alderson was the first federal prison built for women in the country. The first inmates arrived on April 30, 1927. The formal opening came on November 14, 1928. Before it existed, women convicted of federal crimes were held in state prisons, county jails, and the women's units of men's penitentiaries.[2][3]
The press nicknamed the facility "Camp Cupcake" after Martha Stewart was sentenced there in 2004.[4]
Overview
FPC Alderson holds female inmates classified as minimum security. These are women judged to be low flight and safety risks, most of them serving time for nonviolent offenses. There are no walls or armed towers. Housing is dormitory style rather than cells. Inmates move around the grounds with more freedom than they would have at a higher-security institution.[1]
The camp runs education, vocational, and work programs aimed at reentry. Inmates take adult continuing education classes, work jobs that keep the facility running, and train in trades. Most spend their days assigned to a work detail on the grounds.[1]
The original campus was built to resemble a boarding school. It opened with fourteen cottages laid out in a horseshoe on two tiers of hillside. There were no armed guards. The buildings carried the names of social reformers. A contemporary federal judge called it a "fashionable boarding school." The design reflected a reform-minded view of how a women's prison should work, in contrast to the fortress architecture of the men's penitentiaries of the day.[2][3]
History
The push for a separate federal prison for women came from Mabel Walker Willebrandt, the assistant U.S. attorney general who oversaw federal prisons in the 1920s. She argued that women in federal custody needed their own institution rather than space borrowed inside men's facilities. Congress authorized the prison, and West Virginia was chosen for the site. The location was remote enough to discourage escapes and still within reach of Washington.[2][5]
The institution opened as the Federal Industrial Institution for Women. Dr. Mary B. Harris served as its first superintendent. She ran the prison on a rehabilitative model built around education and work rather than punishment. The approach drew national attention as an experiment in prison reform.[3][5]
Over the following decades the institution's role and name shifted as the federal prison system grew. The Bureau of Prisons now classifies the site as Federal Prison Camp, Alderson, with an attached satellite camp and a Federal Satellite Low. It remains one of the oldest women's facilities in the federal system.[1]
Notable Alumni
Alderson has held a number of well-known women across its history. The list below covers inmates whose incarceration there is documented in reliable sources.
| Name | Offense | Dates at Alderson |
|---|---|---|
| Martha Stewart | Conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and false statements (ImClone stock case) | October 8, 2004 – March 4, 2005 |
| Billie Holiday | Narcotics possession | 1947–1948 |
| Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme | Attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford | Entered 1975 |
| Mildred Gillars ("Axis Sally") | Treason, for Nazi propaganda broadcasts | 1950–1956 |
| Iva Toguri D'Aquino ("Tokyo Rose") | Treason, for wartime broadcasts for Japan | 1940s–1950s |
Martha Stewart served five months at Alderson after her 2004 conviction in the ImClone stock case, followed by five months of home confinement. She was released on March 4, 2005.[6]
Singer Billie Holiday served time at Alderson in the late 1940s on a narcotics conviction.[2]
Lynette Fromme, a member of the Manson group, was sent to Alderson after she attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975. She was later moved to other facilities and was paroled in 2009.[2]
Mildred Gillars, known during World War II as "Axis Sally," was convicted of treason for broadcasting Nazi propaganda and served at Alderson during the 1950s. Iva Toguri D'Aquino, identified in wartime reporting as "Tokyo Rose," was convicted of treason for broadcasts aimed at American troops in the Pacific and also did time at the camp.[2]
Location and Visitation
FPC Alderson is on Glen Ray Road outside the town of Alderson, West Virginia, in the southern Allegheny Mountains. The grounds straddle the Monroe and Summers county line.[1]
The mailing address for inmate correspondence is:
Inmate Name and Register Number FPC Alderson Federal Prison Camp Glen Ray Road, Box A Alderson, WV 24910
Visiting days, approved visitor lists, dress requirements, and entry procedures are set by the Bureau of Prisons and can change. Visitors should confirm the current schedule and rules with the facility before traveling. Current details are posted on the Bureau of Prisons institution page.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "FPC Alderson", Federal Bureau of Prisons. Accessed June 3, 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Federal Prison Camp, Alderson", Wikipedia. Accessed June 3, 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "The first federal prison for women opens in West Virginia", History.com.
- ↑ "Celebrities like Martha Stewart did time at America's oldest federal women's prison in West Virginia", WBOY.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Alderson Federal Prison Camp", e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia.
- ↑ "Martha Stewart is released from prison", History.com.