It’s no secret most Texans view Colorado as a suburb of Texas, and it is a commonplace occurrence to see Texas license plates all over that state as Texans commute to and from leisure activities.  Many Texans may not be aware, however, that a treasure trove of history lies just across the northern border of Colorado in Laramie.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Wyoming Territorial Prison opened as a U.S. Penitentiary in 1872 and later became Wyoming’s first State Penitentiary.  For 30 years, it held violent and desperate outlaws. During the three decades of operation, 1,200 prisoners (men and women) walked through the front iron doors and occupied the cells. Now a museum, visitors can walk the halls where prisoners were locked up, worked, and lived.  This prison is one of only three federally constructed territorial penitentiaries that still exist in the western United States, and the only one in which most of the original structure is preserved.

Through informative displays, visitors discover the stories held behind the prison walls. At the “Big House across the River,” displays of cells and artifacts reveal the prison’s past. A walking tour includes the prison building, the prison industries building, and the warden’s house. Located next to the prison building, the prison industries building (broom factory) was built to raise revenue, manage the prison population, and maintain a workshop year-round.

History

The prison was built in 1872 and began accepting prisoners in early 1873. The facility had problems from the outset, with a fire in 1873 and recurrent jailbreaks. Of the 44 prisoners accepted in the first two years of operation, 11 escaped. By 1877, the prison was overcrowded. As the prison filled, its reputation worsened, and it became less used, being considered more appropriate for those with light sentences. During the 1880s, the prison was under capacity, with as few as three prisoners at one time. However, in 1889, a second cellblock was constructed, expanding capacity to 150 and providing a central kitchen, dining hall, guards’ rooms, and steam heat. There were at least five cells for female inmates and several solitary confinement cells.

The Auburn Prison System was adopted to manage the prison population. Under this system convicts were sentenced to hard labor, required to be silent at all times, wear black and white striped uniforms, and their identities removed by replacing their names with numbers.

In 1890, Wyoming became a state, and the facility was transferred to the new state, which already had planned a new facility in Rawlins. Butch Cassidy was incarcerated here in 1894-1896. Prisoners were transferred to Rawlins in 1901; the prison was closed in 1903 and given to the University of Wyoming.

The university operated the property to conduct experiments in livestock breeding until 1989. In 1991, the property opened to the public. In 2004, it was established as Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site.

Famous Residents

·         Robert LeRoy Parker aka Butch Cassidy, George Parker, and George Cassidy from 1894-1896. He began his outlaw career near Centerville, UT. His father had purchased a ranch known as a den for horse thieves and rustlers. Robert was tutored by outlaw Mike Cassidy and later adopted the Cassidy name. His first crime of note happened in 1897 in Colorado, but prior to that he was in Wyoming and involved in petty theft. His favorite haunts were Brown’s Hole, Hole-in-the-Wall, Lander, Sheridan and Thermopolis (all these areas are in Wyoming except Brown’s Hole, which was where Utah and Colorado met Wyoming).

·         Clark Pelton, aka Billy Webster, aka “The Kid,” from 1880-1882; It is thought that Bill Bevins taught Pelton the ways of a road agent. He also ran with other noted outlaws who plagued the stage line that ran the Cheyenne River and was involved in murder, rustling, highway robbery, and interfering with the mail.

·         George Currie aka “Flat Nose George” Widely quoted as being an outlaw “just for the fun of it.” He ran with the Hole-in-the-Wall gang for a time and left taking several outlaws with him. The Gillette-Buffalo-Kaycee area of Wyoming knew George as a likable rancher who may have done a little rustling. The large cattle operations knew George as a man who did train robbery, a lot of rustling, and a little ranching on the side! He was implicated in an ambush murder of a Converse County Sheriff and 1897 murder of Johnson County deputy.

More About Butch Cassidy

Of those who were locked in cells here, perhaps none is more notorious than Butch Cassidy. The famed outlaw spent roughly 18 months at the prison for stealing horses in the late 1800s, his only prison stint. Cassidy formed his “Wild Bunch” gang of criminals shortly after his release (which involved a pardon by the governor).

Cassidy obviously had charm and connections.  Many viewed him as a kind of “Robin Hood,” carefully planning heists to steal from the rich while attempting to stay non-violent.  Not everyone in his gang, however, had a non-violent gene.    We know for sure that three members–Kid Curry, George Curry and Will Carver–killed people during their reign. There’s a good chance that others in the gang killed as well.

When there are gaps in historical records, vacancies are often filled in by legend.  Though there are many facts in the Butch and Sundance story, it has no definitive ending, and legend persists.  One ending is that the outlaws were trapped in San Vincente by Bolivian authorities, a gunfight erupted, and the bandits were found dead afterward.  Another version claims that 1908 shootout involved two other outlaws deliberately misidentified, providing Butch and Sundance a new life free of pursuing authorities.  This version has Cassidy returning to the U.S to live out the rest of his life in peace.

ADMISSION FEES
Adults: $9.00
Youth ages 12-17: $4.50
Children 11 and under Free
May – September
9AM – 4PM Daily
October-April
10am – 3pm (Wednesday – Saturday)

Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site
975 Snowy Range Rd
Laramie, WY 82070
307-745-6161
wyoparks.wyo.gov