SCI Huntingdon

The State Correctional Institution at Huntingdon was created by an act of the General Assembly on June 12, 1878.  A group of commissioners appointed for the purpose of selecting a proper site decided on the present location along the Juniata River.  The original tract of ground contained 39 acres and several springs.  The land for SCI Huntingdon was purchased at a cost of $22,036.  In 1888, R. W. McClaughry was named as the first General Superintendent to direct the new reformatory for delinquents too young for a penitentiary and too old for a juvenile institution.  The Industrial Reformatory at Huntingdon received its first inmates in 1889. Two additional cellblocks were added in the 1930s.   In 1945, the institution was officially declared the Pennsylvania Institution for Defective Delinquents.  Inmates were labeled by the courts as mentally defective with criminal tendencies.  In 1960, SCI Huntingdon made its final change to a maximum security, adult male state correctional institution.  

SCI Huntingdon is Pennsylvania’s oldest State Correctional Institution in continuous operation, opening its gates in 1889. Originally intended to reform and educate young male offenders, inmates were schooled in the trades which included, painting, plumbing, carpentry and cabinet making, electrical, masonry (stone and brick) a foundry, blacksmith shop, lime kiln, brick ovens, saw mill, lumber kiln and planing mill. The farm operation supplied meats, dairy, poultry and vegetables for the kitchen. Electricity generated in the power plant and water supplied by springs on the property made the Institution almost totally independent from the outside world.

Facility Information

Number of Acres Inside the Perimeter: 10

Number of Acres Outside the Perimeter: 300

Number of Operational Structures: 76

Number of Housing Units: 14

Special Features: Special Needs Unit and Modular Housing Units

Average Number of Full-Time Employees:   660

Inmate Information

Inmate Population: Current Inmate Population

PA Correctional Industries: SCI Huntingdon features multiple PCI opportunities, including: Warehouse; Print Shop, Specialty License Plate Shop; Sign Shop; Garment Shop; and Soap/Detergent Shop. Huntingdon PCI employs 212 inmates.

Community Work Program: The SCI Huntingdon CWP crew performs grass cutting, painting, cemetery cleanup, litter pickup and much more for local nonprofit organizations.

Reentry Service Office: In order to ease a reentrant’s transition after release and improve community reintegration, the Reentry Service Offices (RSOs) are designed to provide information and services to inmates who are within 18 months to their minimum and/or release date. Reentry Parole Agents (RPAs) oversee the RSOs and work with other DOC staff members to facilitate various workshops including Life Skills, Budgeting, Digital Literacy — among many others. The RSO utilizes its computer lab to assist reentrants with resume writing, job searches, as well as providing community connections for services they may need upon release.

Academic Education

• GED

Vocational Programs

• Barbering
• Carpentry
• Custodial Maintenance
• Commercial Driver License
• Building Trades
• Printing
• Flagger
• OSHA Ten-Hour Construction Certification

Inmate Programs

• Pathway to Success
• Act 143 Victim Awareness
• Money Smart
• Veteran's Office
• Therapeutic Community (SUD program)
• SUD Co-occurring Outpatient
• SUD Outpatient
• Certified Peer Specialists
• Certified Recovery Specialists