18. Yuma Territorial Prison in the Arizona territory opened in 1876
When the Yuma Territorial Prison opened, receiving its first seven inmates in 1876, it was considered by those sentenced to serve their time in the new facility as virtually escape proof without considerable help from outside. Surrounded by arid desert, baking in the summer heat, and with well-armed and trained guards, Yuma was not a desirable destination. Much of the prison was built by the prisoners themselves under the watchful eyes of the guards. In 1878 the prison’s first female inmate arrived. In 1884 electricity was installed in the prison, for lighting as well as a for a forced air ventilation system. Riots occurred in the prison, including an outbreak among the prisoners in 1887 which led to the deaths of four inmates.
Although the prison was eventually equipped with a dark cell, for solitary confinement as a punishment, and used the method of shackling known as a ball and chain for other misbehavior, it also contained a library which eventually stocked over 2,000 books, making it the largest in the Arizona Territory at the time. By the first decade of the twentieth century the prison was overcrowded and rather than enlarge the Yuma Prison another facility was built in Florence. Yuma Territorial Prison closed as an incarceration facility in 1909 (Arizona did not become a state until 1912), and later housed Yuma High School for a short time. In 1961 the former prison site became Arizona’s third state park. Yuma Territorial Prison has been a plot device in numerous western themed motion pictures and television programs, and remains a popular tourist destination.
Where do we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
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