The Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution is one of 14 state prisons in Oregon, United States. The prison is located in Pendleton, Oregon. The facility was originally built in 1913 as the Eastern Oregon State Hospital, a hospital for long-term mental patients, but was converted into a prison in 1983. In addition to providing confinement housing, food service, and medical care, the correctional facility offers education, vocational training, and work opportunities within the prison. Inmates at the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution produce Prison Blues garments, an internationally marketed clothing line.HistoryMost of the facilities that now house the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution were built in 1912 and 1913. They were originally built for use as Eastern Oregon State Hospital, a former state mental hospital. As such, the buildings housed the Eastern Oregon Hospital and Training Center until the Oregon legislature authorized their conversion into a men’s medium-security prison in 1983. When the first inmates arrived at the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution on 24 June 1985, the prison became Oregon’s first state correctional facility located outside Marion County.Today, the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution is one of 14 state prisons run by the Oregon Department of Corrections. As of 2009, the prison was the fourth largest employer in Pendleton.
