Yuma Territorial Prison Museum in Yuma, Arizona

Yuma Territorial Prison
State Historic Park

An observation deck

built on top of original

guard tower.

The Yuma Territorial Prison
sits on a bluff above the
Colorado River.

Eric stands beneath

the sally port...

Entrance to the prison.

The Yuma Territorial Prison 
opened in 1875

Built by prisoners in 1874, Yuma Territorial Prison was described as a hell hole by the prisoners incarcerated there.  The insufferable heat felt like an inferno.  The prison was surrounded by rivers, quick sand and desert.  Tuberculosis was the number one killer at the prison.

The Territorial Prison had more amenities than local residents had... Electricity, two tubs and a shower, a library with 2,000 books and a Prison Band.  Many in the area referred to the prison as "The Country Club on the Colorado."

Prisoners  were stripped of

their personal belongings &

given prison attire.

Jose Maria Redondo was the territorial legislator who brought the prison to Yuma.

Used their creative talents
in shell & onyx carving...

wood & metal carving.

Prisoners included embezzlers,  thieves, murderers, polygamists.  Twenty-nine women served time at Yuma Territorial Prison.  Their crimes included robbery, manslaughter, murder

The main cell block was
built to hold 204 prisoners
& became overcrowded
fairly quickly.

Six prisoners were housed together

in these cramped cells.

The new yard was built in

1900 to relieve overcrowding.

Eric does some time

"in stir."

Prisoners were sent to the
Dark Cell for various offenses.

This cell block housed

incorrigible prisoners.

These three children are doing

time for sassing their mother.

The library housed 2,000

books.

Many prisoners served their time and were released.  Some had their sentences commuted.








Other prisoners died...
Many from tuberculosis.

These prisoners were buried

within site of the prison walls.

The Yuma Territorial Prison closed in 1909, because there was no more room for expansion, and prisoners were moved to Florence.  The prison was used as a hospital, the Yuma High School, a shelter for hobos and the homeless during the Depression.  The prison was scavenged for materials.  Several fires destroyed parts of the complex.  Residents of Yuma decided to save the prison in 1939 and raised money for renovate the guard tower and build a museum.  In 1960 the City of Yuma sold the prison to the state and it opened as a state park in 1961.