Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Yuma Territorial Prison State Park
One of the attractions in Yuma is the Yuma Territorial Prison State Park. This prison operated
from 1876 to 1909 and housed both men and women. The original plan was to build the prison in Phoenix but 2 members of the legislature were from Yuma and they amended the bill changing the prison's location to Yuma. The prison was well situated as it was built high on a hill at the junction of the Colorado and Gila Rivers. After it closed the prison was used as a high school for Yuma students (the sports team still bear the name "criminals" or "crims", it was also used to house transients during the depression (if you couldn't prove you had a job waiting for you California you weren't allowed across the state line), also the town folks removed many of the prison walls for building materials after the city was flooded and needed to be rebuilt, and finally it was turned into a museum and state park.
The original entry gate, a lot of the outside wall was taken away for building material after the great flood
One of the cell blocks
and another of the cell blocks. Over the past years, many movies, mostly westerns, have been made here using this as a background.
from 1876 to 1909 and housed both men and women. The original plan was to build the prison in Phoenix but 2 members of the legislature were from Yuma and they amended the bill changing the prison's location to Yuma. The prison was well situated as it was built high on a hill at the junction of the Colorado and Gila Rivers. After it closed the prison was used as a high school for Yuma students (the sports team still bear the name "criminals" or "crims", it was also used to house transients during the depression (if you couldn't prove you had a job waiting for you California you weren't allowed across the state line), also the town folks removed many of the prison walls for building materials after the city was flooded and needed to be rebuilt, and finally it was turned into a museum and state park.
The original entry gate, a lot of the outside wall was taken away for building material after the great flood
One of the cell blocks
and another of the cell blocks. Over the past years, many movies, mostly westerns, have been made here using this as a background.
If you wish you can sign our guest book
We have added a web page with a map of our current location and route to date