FCI Gilmer (minimum-security camp)

FCI Gilmer. Public domain photograph, via Wikimedia Commons.

FCI Gilmer is a minimum-security satellite camp for men in Glenville, West Virginia, operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It held about 44 people as of November 2025. It does not offer the Residential Drug Abuse Program. The institution's main number is 304-626-2500.

MALE

Gender

MINIMUM

Security Level

44

Population (Nov. 2025)

No RDAP

Location

Physical location: GLENVILLE, WV 26351

Mailing address: 201 FCI LANE, GLENVILLE, WV 26351

Visitation

There are many specific rules and procedures to be aware of when you're considering visiting the institution. Read more on our Visitation Guide.

For full, current visiting rules and scheduling, always check the institution's official page on the Bureau of Prisons website: Official BOP Page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does FCI Gilmer allow conjugal visits?

No. FCI Gilmer does not allow conjugal visits. The Federal Bureau of Prisons does not permit conjugal visits at any facility regardless of security level. This includes all minimum-security federal prison camps, low-security FCIs, medium-security facilities, and high-security USPs. Only four state prison systems (California, Connecticut, New York, and Washington) allow conjugal visits for state prisoners. Federal inmates have no access to conjugal or extended family visits anywhere in the BOP system.

Q: What types of visitation are allowed at FCI Gilmer?

FCI Gilmer allows contact visits during designated visiting hours, typically on weekends and holidays. Contact visits permit brief embraces at the start and end of visits, but prolonged physical contact is not allowed. All visits occur in supervised visiting rooms. Visitors must be pre-approved through a background check process and must follow dress code requirements. For full details, see the Visiting Policies and Procedures page.

Daily life and programs

The Federal Correctional Institution, Gilmer is a federal prison complex in Gilmer County near Glenville, in rural central West Virginia, roughly 85 miles northeast of Charleston and about 150 miles south of Pittsburgh. Operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and opened in 2003, the complex pairs a medium-security main institution for adult men with an adjacent minimum-security satellite prison camp. The camp is a small, separate unit: secondary prison-guide sources cite a population around 60 to 65 minimum-security men, while Wikipedia has cited a figure closer to 160, and BOP counts fluctuate over time, so the camp should be understood as a modestly sized dormitory-based unit rather than a large yard. Unlike the cell-based, fenced medium institution, camp inmates live in open dormitory housing, have greater freedom of movement, and are generally lower-security men serving shorter terms or approaching the end of longer sentences.

Similar to most BOP satellite camps, the primary function of the Gilmer camp is to provide inmate labor for the main complex. Consequently, daily routines center on work assignments in food service, facilities maintenance, landscaping and grounds, warehouse operations, and the powerhouse. Inmates working in standard institution jobs earn approximately $0.12 to $0.40 per hour. The complex also features a UNICOR (Federal Prison Industries) facility that reportedly focuses on metal fabrication and the remanufacturing of U.S. Customs and Border Protection vehicles. This operation employs approximately 120 inmates drawn from both the camp and the main institution, with UNICOR pay ranging from about $0.23 to $1.15 per hour. Across the entire complex, available education services include adult literacy, GED preparation, English-as-a-Second-Language, Adult Continuing Education (ACE) classes, a parenting program, and a college track toward an associate degree in business. A variety of vocational apprenticeships are associated with FCI Gilmer, offering training in trades such as automobile mechanic, baker, cook, HVAC installation and service, painter, plumber, polished-concrete and floor covering, quality-control inspector, teacher aide, and welder/fitter. According to at least one secondary source, the camp itself offers a Powerhouse Mechanics apprenticeship, despite lacking the fuller slate of advanced occupational programs available at the main institution.

Support services for camp inmates mirror those of the wider complex. The facility provides medical and dental sick call, urgent care, and medications, and emergency medical services are available around the clock. Inmates over 50 may request an annual physical, while those under 50 may request a physical every two years. Inmates may spend up to $360.00 per month at the commissary. They can also fund telephone accounts capped at roughly 300 minutes per month with calls of about 15 minutes, in addition to using monitored TRULINCS electronic messaging. Leisure and recreation programming covers organized and informal sports, physical fitness, table and hobbycraft activities, music programs, intramural leagues, and movies. Furthermore, camp inmates typically enjoy more relaxed movement than the medium yard. Reporting on the Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP) at Gilmer is inconsistent across secondary sources. Some sources state that RDAP is not offered, whereas others indicate a program at the main facility. Therefore, RDAP availability for the camp specifically is not reliably established here.

A clear distinction must be maintained between the minimum-security camp and the medium-security main institution, as the main facility is the portion of the complex that appears in most news coverage and court records. Federal prosecutors in the Northern District of West Virginia have brought multiple cases arising inside FCI Gilmer, involving inmates sentenced for smuggling or possessing drugs such as heroin within the prison. These legal matters concern the secured medium institution population rather than the open camp. Public 'notable inmate' lists for FCI Gilmer likewise reflect the medium institution, featuring examples such as Hobbs Act robbery convict Hector Rivera and tax-protester Edward Brown. Both are serving long terms, which is expected since minimum-security camps do not hold inmates with such sentences or security classifications. Verified, citable detail that is specific to the Gilmer camp as opposed to the broader complex remains limited in public sources.