This was our second winter here in Yuma, and we finally made it to the Territorial Prison. We thought we would take Debbie and Jack there when they came to visit the end of October, but it was closed of course, the two days they were here. During the winter season the prison is open every day, so we went with Ed and Tricia Ianone when they were out this way from Florida in February.
Upon (properly) entering the Territorial Prison there is a timeline of the prison. The stories of the inmates were quite interesting to read. But I think I was most surprised to learn the later uses the prison received.
Timeline of the Territorial Prison of Yuma:
This entrance through the wall is called the Sallyport, which is from the Spanish, “salir por la puerta” – meaning “to go out the door”. Each end has two iron doors far enough apart to enclose a wagon, when both gates are closed.
Gates Riot – October 1887
This was the most infamous escape attempt. It took place at the Sallyport entrance. 7 prisoners attempted to escape using Superintendent Gates as a hostage. Gates ordered the tower guard to shoot. While Gates sustained a knife wound to the neck, four inmates were killed. The three surviving inmates were sent to the dark cell. Gates later resigned due to constant pain from the injury.
When a new prisoner arrived, he was assigned a number and had his vital statistics of height and weight taken. His head was shaven, and then he was photographed with a specially develop mirror that gave a full-on front view, and a profile view at the same time.
There were six inmates to a cell with iron bunkbeds to prevent bedbugs. The ring in the floor was used to shackle prisoners for talking after hours, or other “minor” violations. If one committed a violation, they all paid the price.
Women prisoners were definitely a challenge for the prison.
Yet, even with the amenities listed above, and the excellent medical care (relatively speaking), the Territorial Prison was nicknamed the “Hellhole of the West”, because of the scorching summer temperatures and the infamous solitary “dark cell”.
And then there was the INCORRIGIBLE WARD… This consisted of 5 metal cages, corrugated iron roofing and lumber. The incorrigible ward would get incredibly hot with the triple digit Yuma summer temperatures beating down on the cells. Some prisoners would die in those cells.
The PRISON BELL:
The prison cast iron bell was about 800 pounds with its carriage. It could be heard for many miles and was to alert everyone of a possible prison escape, or riot. It used to sit below a window along a roofline of one of the prison buildings.
After the prison closed, the Somerton Baptist Church purchased the bell to use for the next 23 years and ring out joy and praise. In 1937, Rev Wells felt it should be preserved and returned it.
Listen to Barry ring the prison bell! It was even louder than it sounds on the video.
During any “leisure moments” the prisoners were allowed to work for themselves. They made some incredible things. Money received from the sale of any items was credited for those prisoners to have at the time of their release! Some accumulated a handsome sum of money by the end of their imprisonment.
The PRISON CEMETERY
Burials were simple and quick. A shallow grave was dug where a wooden casket containing the body was lowered, covered with the caliche soil, and then overlaid with rocks. (Caliche soil is a layer of soil in which the individual soil particles are cemented together with calcium carbonate (CaCO3). The term “cemented” is key here, because the resulting soil is very much like actual cement: rock-hard and nonporous.) 104 of the 111 who died were buried here. You do not see all 104 graves in the area you can walk through. Deaths occurred from disease, accident, murder, suicide and escape attempts.
Prisoners were moved to Florence in 1909, and the Yuma Territorial prison closed as a prison. However, when Yuma lost its high school to a fire in 1910, they used the evacuated prison for classes till the new high school was ready for the 1914-15 school year. As the Yuma HS football team was about to beat a heavily-favored Phoenix team, the Phoenix fans began taunting the Yuma players, calling them “criminals” since the school had been at the prison for 3 years. Yuma embraced this taunting and call all the sports teams the Criminals or “Crims” – complete with a logo, mascot and “Crimwear” merchandise. Now that’s unique!
In keeping with the theme of the prison, Tricia, Ed, Barry and I went for lunch at the Prison Hill Brewing Co, located nearby in downtown, historic Yuma. This is Yuma’s ONLY craft brewery. Ed and Barry each tried one of their beers, while Tricia got their signature drink: hibiscus margarita. It was really good! It was fun just looking at the names of the menu options that went with the prison theme. Some were Jailbird, The Bailout, The Snitch, The Verdict, Flew the Coop, The Shank, Drunk Tank, etc. Food was really good!
Before heading back the their RV to tend to their dogs, we had to make a stop at the “Yuma postcard” for Tricia and Ed. Tricia just LOVES pictures…LOL (not).
