The facility was first opened in 1965, and has a working capacity of 1963. The facility is adjacent to the state's Shawnee Correctional Center. In 1979 it became the first such institution to become accredited by the American Correctional Association.[2]
In May 2015 the non-profit prison watchdog John Howard Association documented chronic unsafe and unclean conditions in the facility, allegations that supported an inmates' class-action suit seeking to address neglect and overcrowding.[3]