Ferndale opened in 1973 and can house up to 166 inmates, who live in residential-style units on a federal reserve shared with Mission Institution.

[2][failed verification] Previous warden Ron Wiebe (deceased) was the founder of the "Restorative Justice" project, which brought together offenders, victims and their families for reconciliation/mediation.

[5] In 2008 a directive from Ottawa was given to involuntarily transfer out of Ferndale all inmates with the "Dangerous Offender" (DO) classification to higher security prisons (medium or maximum) See case of Morgan Cooper v. Warden Ferndale[6] Some non-violent offenders may be directly classified to minimum security without cascading.

For several years, Colin Thatcher, a former Saskatchewan politician convicted for murdering his wife in 1984, was housed at Ferndale institution.

He was allowed to bring horses from his ranch in Saskatoon to the penitentiary reserve, but after public outrage this special privilege was discontinued.