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 YUMA,
ARIZONA—
Yuma may
not get much rain, but it really doesn't matter. Located at the confluence
of the Colorado and Gila Rivers in Arizona, this historic town has been
agriculturally and strategically important for hundreds of years.
A visit to
the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park gave us a peek back into
the history of the area. The first cells were built in 1876 by seven inmates
who then took up residence. During the prison's 33 years of operation,
3,062 other prisoners, including 29 women, served time within its walls.
Although
the prison had a "dark cell" used for punishment, it also providing
instruction in reading and writing to inmates and housed one of the first
public libraries in the Arizona Territory. One of the earliest electrical
generating plants in the West furnished power for lights and ran a ventilating
system in the cell block.
It was definitely
not paradise, however, and many prisoners attempted escape. Twenty-six
were successful, and 8 died from gunshot wounds. Unsuccessful escapees
were dealt with in classic fashion: they were chained to iron balls. No
executions took place, because capital punishment was administered by
county governments.
 Record
keeping at the prison was excellent, and that's what makes a visit to
the museum such a vivid experience. Every inmate was photographed next
to a special mirror that provided an automatic side view. The mirror is
set up for tourist use today, and, as you can see in the picture, it still
works perfectly!
By 1907,
the prison was severely overcrowded, and a new one was built at another
location. The "campus" housed Yuma Union High School for four
years, and later provided free lodging to hobos "riding the rails"
in the 1920's. Homeless families took shelter in the abandoned buildings
during the Depression, but as the structures fell into greater disrepair,
locals started harvesting building materials from the ruins. Fires, weather
and railroad construction caused further destruction, and now only the
cells, main gate and guard tower remain to give modern-day visitors a
glimpse of prison life in the wild west.
Yuma Territorial
Prison, Box 10792, Yuma, AZ 85366-8792
Telephone: (602) 783-4771
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