There was already a prison for males on the site which was opened in 1883, the womens prison which was run separatley was built in 1901 and opened ion 1903. The womens prison closed in 1921 as space was needed for male prisoners which were being transfered from St Helena Islands penal centre as it was closing due to disrepair. The women were put in another building on the site at the southern end (now demolished). A workshop was built in 1929 and the Boggo Gaol site was responsible for a large part of Queensland's prison industrial productions. The majority of the buildings are still the original ones that were built between 1901 and 1903, but most of the older ones have been demolished, the original mens prison was knocked down in 1976. The gaol became a maximum security prison in the mid 1970's. It closed in 1989 after the prison became a place of many riots, protests and hunger strikes due to the conditions prisoners were being kept in for eg there were no toilet facilities in the cells and the prisoners had to use a bucket which was emptied each morning. An inquiry found the prison to be outdated and inadequate. Since 1992 the gaol as been a museum and a place of interest with many visitors each year.

The gaol is said to be haunted by a few unsettled ghosts including, 2 guards, and many past prisoners thought to be either 'lifers' or prisoners who were hung there. Also the sound of someone stomping around is heard, and people find some places of the gaol extremely unsettling places to be in.