During the
Great Depression, the city of Springfield, Missouri, offered of land to the federal government to build the prison, under the direction of business leaser and Chamber of Commerce president
John T. Woodruff. Congress authorized the building of the prison in 1930. The prison opened in 1933 as the "United States Hospital for
Defective Delinquents", under superintendent Marion R. King. The land surrounding the prison was used by the prisoners for farming until 1966. In 1977, the federal government returned some of the original 620 acres to the city.
Robert Henry Best and
Herbert John Burgman, who were sentenced to life in prison for
treason in 1948 and 1949 for making
propaganda broadcasts for the
Nazis, served their sentences at this prison. Best died at MCFP Springfield in 1952, Burgman in 1953. Several high-profile
Mafia bosses received medical treatment at MCFP Springfield, including
Joseph Bonanno of the
Bonanno crime family,
Vito Genovese and
Vincent Gigante of the
Genovese crime family and
John Gotti of the
Gambino crime family. Genovese died at MCFP Springfield in 1969, Gotti in 2002, and Gigante in 2005. Other notable inmates held at MCFP Springfield for treatment include
Robert Stroud, known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz" who died there in 1963, racecar driver
Randy Lanier, drug trafficker
Michael Riconosciuto, and "The Toxic Pharmacist"
Robert Courtney. Terrorists
Omar Abdel Rahman and
José Padilla were also held there for brief periods. ==Notable incidents==