Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park: Going to Jail on Cinco de Mayo
Written: Mar 29 '01 (Updated Oct 30 '01)
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Pros: Educationally informative
Cons: Very hot, especially in the summer months
The Bottom Line: If you are passing through or planning a vacation in Yuma, this museum is worth a detour off of the interstate.
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| jdhauer's Full Review: Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park |
My husband and I were driving from Phoenix to San Diego on Cinco de Mayo. We stopped in Yuma for some gasoline and a break to change drivers. After checking out the downtown area where we were treated to a rousing rendition of the Mexican National Anthem played by the local high school band, we got back into our car and were going to head out of town. The two of us love to explore local museums when we have time and had a tough choice to make: Yuma Crossing State Historic Park or the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park. Since we were celebrating Cinco de Mayo, we decided to live on the wild side and head off to jail.
Upon pulling into the parking lot at the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park, the first building you encounter is a guard tower which overlooks the Colorado River. We were treated to three freight trains passing through during our visit and the guard tower is a nice place from which to watch them. There is a small lawn upon which you can picnic near the guard tower but not much shade. It's a pretty view but nothing overtly spectacular or breathtaking. This part of the park is free but to enter the museum, there is a nominal fee of $3 per person.
In some respects, the prison appears to have been a very sadistic place. One of the first things you'll notice about Yuma is that it's hot. Even in the winter, it tends to be hot. It's in the middle of a desert. If you were going to build a prison, you'd want to put it someplace where your prisoners wouldn't make it too far on their own should they escape. In fact, the very first prisoners who were incarcerated here built their own cells in 1876!
But, from viewing the exhibits at the museum, you'll learn that the prison was one of the nicer ones during the time period it was open. The only punishments for prisoners were solitary confinement, being placed in a dark cell or wearing a ball and chain. Those punishments were only meted out if a prisoner tried to escape or for fighting. In actuality, only 26 prisoners ever escaped and the majority of them were not within the prison walls when they managed to do so.
The inmates were given the opportunity to learn various trades and crafts as well as to attend school. Any money they earned from selling items, they were allowed to keep for themselves and the medical care was good. Within the museum, there are cases of handiwork created by the prisoners and these are true works of art.
Only a few thousand inmates ever served time here, including some women. Most were convicted of larceny but there were some murderers and some polygamists as well as some other criminals. Many prisoners died here, but they were mostly felled by tuberculosis. Pictures of the inmates are on display which brings a human aspect to the exhibits instead of just names on a list. There is even the opportunity to have your own picture taken in the same style as the inmates using a mirror system so that both a front and side view are taken at the same time in one frame of film.
Life in the desert was not at all bad for the inmates. The prison had its own electrical generator so there was a primitive form of air conditioning in the cell block area.
Fortunately (or unfortunately), the prison became overcrowded and a new jail was built elsewhere since land was at a premium. This facility could not be expanded. The last prisoner was housed here in 1909.
Since then, the prison has been used to house the homeless during the Great Depression and has served as a high school. Today it's a museum which provides the visitor with some outlook into a time period which has long passed and also a type of life which most of us hopefully will never have to personally experience.
Recommended:
Yes
Best time to go: December-February
Recommended for: Anybody
Review Topic: Overview
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jdhauer
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