Name: Bolduc Correctional Facility’s Farm
Location: 516 Cushing Road
Warren, Maine 04864
Phone: 207-273-2036
Website: www.maine.gov/corrections/
Mission: The mission of the Bolduc
Correctional Facility is to protect the public by
providing a safe, healthy environment where
prisoners are held to a high standard of conduct
and are provided with opportunities for personal
growth that allow them to return to society as
productive citizens.
Products and Services:
-beef cattle
-turkeys
-farm crops
-greenhouses
-forestry
-orchard
-Shelter Me Horse Program
-K-9 Corrections Program
What Makes Bolduc Correctional Facility’s
Farm So Unique?
Bolduc Correctional Facility in Warren is a minimum
security prison for inmates with a sentence left that
is less than three years. A major focus of the facility
is to assist the inmates with re-entering society
with some skills and a sense of preparedness. There
are various programs which provide training at the prison including the Building Trades, Auto Body Shop, Electrical Trades, Plumbing and Heating, and Culinary Arts.
The Farm Program at the Bolduc Correctional Facility has a rich history. The farm was built in the 1930’s as a barracks for the Maine State Prison. According to the Maine Department of Corrections’ webpage it consisted of “three farms, the prisoners’ barracks, poultry barns, turkey barns, a piggery, cannery, slaughter house, and numerous dairy facilities, including a pasteurization plant.”
Crops were grown on a large scale by the prison on leased fields throughout Knox County. It enabled the
prison to basically be self-sufficient. In 1969, many farm buildings and the pasteurization plant were wiped out by a major fire and the farm was closed in 1970.
In 1972, the farm was reopened with assistance from
the Department of Manpower Affairs. Major Ronald Bolduc was the driving force in enabling the farm to
be transformed into a vocational training site for inmates. A farm program slowly was rebuilt. One of the primary functions of the Bolduc Correctional Facility is to provide inmates with skills that may prove useful to them upon release from prison. Since ninety-five percent of the prison population in Maine will eventually be released and returned to the community the Bolduc Correctional Facility provides some critically-needed services.
Building relations with the community has been evidenced in various programs at the Bolduc Correctional Facility. Several of the inmates are able
to leave the prison for various work release positions.
Bolduc works closely with the Humane Society of Knox County through their K-9 Connections program.
They also have formed ties with the Division of Animal Welfare of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry through their Shelter Me horse program. This program provides a home for horses that were abused or abandoned.
Today the Bolduc Correctional Facility Farm is managed by Randy Thomas. He has worked for the
Maine Department of Corrections for almost twenty-five years. For those not familiar with the farm, one of the impressions that a first visit provides is the size
of the farm. The Bolduc Correctional Facility is
composed of just over 800 acres, and the ride through the fields and farms seems endless upon an initial visit.
The Bolduc Farm grew 200,000 pounds of potatoes to supply the six adult prison facilities in Maine this past year. They also raised 1,000 turkeys this past summer and fall. Inmates helped to harvest wood and 3,000 bales of hay.
Randy Thomas explained that there is always plenty to do at the Bolduc Farm. Some of the chores include wood harvesting, field restoration, and the care of
an apple orchard. Various crops that were planted this year included potatoes, cabbage, squash, and tomatoes.
Various cover crops were planted to build up the soil.
Two greenhouses have been incorporated into the Farm program. Randy has been contemplating the possibility of introducing a Christmas tree operation.
A gravel pit has been established and a composting
program has been set in place. Three head of cattle are being raised to feed the inmates and to offer meat cutting experience to the inmates in the Culinary Arts program.
Perhaps some of the inmates participating in the Bolduc Farm program will be motivated to pursue an
agricultural-related career upon their release. If this
is not the case, they will have learned some valuable
life skills that may enable them to have experience
with gardening, animal care, wood harvesting, etc.
if they choose to relocate in a rural area.
Best wishes are extended to all the inmates as they
leave Bolduc. A special thank you goes out to
Randy Thomas and Judy Plummer for their warm
welcome and assistance in arranging a visit for this farm profile.
