How many prisoners were transferred when Alcatraz closed in 1963 and where did they go?
Executive summary
When Alcatraz closed on March 21, 1963, officials had already been moving inmates off the island over several months; contemporary reporting says about 250 inmates were being transported beginning the previous fall, with the final news dispatch describing 27 inmates leaving on the last boat that day [1]. Transfers sent Alcatraz prisoners to several federal penitentiaries, notably Leavenworth (Kansas), McNeil/McNeil Island (Washington), Lewisburg (Pennsylvania) and Atlanta (Georgia) according to UPI and later accounts [1] [2].
1. The numbers: “250” over months, “27” on the last day
Contemporaneous wire copy from UPI reported that “the government began transporting the 250 inmates of Alcatraz to new institutions last fall,” and that on March 21 the final group included 27 men who boarded the prison boat for the mainland [1]. Modern histories and museum accounts also emphasize that the population was wound down over months before the official turnover, and that press were invited to witness the final 27 marched off the island [3] [2].
2. Where they went: a dispersed relocation to federal prisons
UPI’s report lists four destinations for those transfers: Leavenworth, Kansas; McNeil (McNeil) Island, Washington; Lewisburg, Pennsylvania; and Atlanta, Georgia [1]. Other sources discussing individual inmate fates corroborate moves to McNeil Island and Atlanta for notable prisoners when the facility shut [4] [5]. AlcatrazHistory’s account likewise describes staged transfer orders beginning in 1962 that sent groups off to other maximum-security federal institutions [3].
3. Why multiple prisons, not one new home
Reporting makes clear the Bureau of Prisons redistributed inmates to existing maximum-security facilities rather than moving everyone to a single replacement site. The decision reflected both the practical need to accommodate different security classifications and the fact that Alcatraz’s population historically drew from—and returned to—other institutions such as Leavenworth, Atlanta and McNeil Island [1] [6]. The closure followed engineering assessments and a high operating cost per prisoner, factors that made the government conclude repair and continued operation were uneconomical [4] [7].
4. The logistics and the last day’s tableau
Descriptions of March 21, 1963, are cinematic: UPI describes 27 inmates, handcuffed and chained, boarding the 10-minute ride to Fort Mason where a chartered bus took them to an airport and then by plane to the receiving institutions [1]. SFGate and AlcatrazHistory provide similar summaries and name Frank C. Weatherman as the final inmate to step off the gangway, a detail repeated in multiple retrospective pieces [2] [3].
5. Variations and inconsistent tallies in secondary sources
Some later or informal sources give different population figures for Alcatraz at closure (examples in fan pages or compilations list totals like 256 or mention 302 including staff), but the primary contemporary reporting cites the “250” figure for inmates moved starting the prior fall and the specific ceremonial last 27 on March 21 [1] [8]. Where specific inmate destinations are discussed individually (for example, Robert Stroud’s earlier transfer to Springfield), those are consistent with the broader pattern of redistribution among federal facilities [5].
6. What the sources don’t say or resolve
Available sources do not mention a single, confirmed master list in these excerpts that matches every inmate to a final receiving prison; contemporary coverage focuses on the process and the last-day scene rather than detailed roll-call outcomes for all inmates [1]. Also, while many accounts connect the June 1962 escape and structural problems to the closure decision, precise causal weighting (how much the escape versus cost and deterioration drove the order) is presented as combined factors rather than a single decisive reason [4] [6] [9].
7. Takeaway and caveats for researchers
If you need an exact roster showing every transferred inmate and their specific receiving institution, current reporting cited here does not provide that comprehensive manifest; the best contemporaneous public account highlights an overall count (~250 moved over months) and the symbolic last 27 departing on March 21, 1963, to Leavenworth, McNeil Island, Lewisburg and Atlanta [1]. For named individual movements and medical transfers (e.g., Robert Stroud), consult Bureau of Prisons records or detailed inmate biographies referenced in official and archival material beyond the excerpts provided [5] [4].