Yuma Territorial Prison State Park

Mr Wonderful and I took our Marine back to the Yuma Air Station late last night.....really late. (He had to be to work by 5:30 am.) We checked into our motel SO late that the desk clerk gave us her lowest discount available. That worked for us! We were hoping to be able to have lunch with Mike, so checked with Lucy, our GPS Navigational System on local attractions. We decided to visit the Yuma Territorial Prison, which is now a state park. I took quite a few pictures, but made a collage of some of my favorites. On July 1, 1876, the first seven inmates entered the Territorial Prison at Yuma and were locked into the new cells they had built themselves. A total of 3,069 prisoners, including 39 women lived within the walls during the prison's 33 years of operation.

Despite the fact that the prison had a very notorious reputation (Arizona heat, maybe) written evidence shows that the prison was a model institution for its time. The dark cells and possibly a ball and chain were the only punishments for those who broke prison rules.

During their free time, the prisoners produced many handcrafted items, which were sold at public bazaars after church on Sundays. Prisoners had access to good medical care, and a hospital. School was available and prison had one of the first "public" libraries in the territory.

The prison, which sits on a bluff overlooking the Colorado River and Gila River became so overcrowded in 1907 that it was closed. There was no room for expansion on Prison Hill. The convicts constructed a new facility at Florence, Arizona. The Yuma Union High School occupied the buildings from 1910 to 1914. Their sports team was the Criminals, or "Crims"! Many homeless families were sheltered at the facility during the depression. Fires, weathering, theft of materials for building destroyed the prison except for the cells, main gate and guard tower. Check out the photos above. Touring the remains of the prison made for a very interesting morning.

Sorry to say, our Marine had to work all day and couldn't break for lunch. Maybe next trip. He will be in Yuma long enough that we are hoping to be able to see him at least one more time. :)