Have you ever heard or learned about the Yuma Territorial Prison? Do you know where it might be located, or know any other specific detail about it. The Yuma Territorial Prison is a prison located in 220 N.
Prison Hill Road, Yuma Arizona in the United States. This prison is currently a museum today that can be visited, and you can also learn about the history of Yuma when you are touring it. Anyone is welcome such as children and adults, to visit this prison and learn about its history.
During the winter, it is open from October 1st- May 31st from 9am- 5pm and it is open in the summer, from June 1st- September 30th from 9am- 5pm. The prison opened in the year 1875 and closed in the year 1909. “On July 1, 1876, the first seven prisoners entered the territorial prison at Yuma and were locked into the new cell they had built themselves.” “A total of 3,069 prisoners, including 29 women, lived in the walls during the prison’s 33 years of operation.
” “The Yuma territorial prison was under continuous construction, with labor provided by the prisoners.” “When the prison ran out of land to build on, a new facility was built in Florence.” The year 1909 on the month of September 15, the last prisoners were transferred to a new prison in Florence, Az. From Yuma to Florence was about 200 miles to destination. During this time, it was the most dangerous with so many crimes being committed. Overtime, the Yuma Territorial prison increased the population of prisoners, at times prisoners were treated well, and a part of the Yuma territorial prison was used to build part of Yuma Arizona. Do you know the history of how the Yuma Territorial Prison was built? “Fernando de Alarcon, who accomplished Coronado on his search for the Seven Cities of Cibola, passed this site in 1540. Padre Kino saw the present location of the Prison and the Quartermaster’s Depot in 1683, and Padre Graces established a mission directly across the river and was later killed there by the Indians in 1781.
Yuma began to experience the American westward surge when countless immigrants crossed by ferry from Yuma on their way to the California gold fields in 1849. In 1850, a military pot was established at Yuma, and when rich placer gold strikes on the Colorado River precipitated a gold rush in 1858, Yuma experienced a boom. In 1871 Yuma incorporated and became the county seat of Yuma County.” The Yuma Territorial Prison was founded even before Arizona became a state. The prison was authorized by the Territorial Legislature in the year 1875. The prison was budgeted $25,000 to be built.
When the prison opened the first prisoner was William Hall. The ground of the prison was broken on April 28, 1876. After this happened, some of the prisoners had to fix this problem by, being put into work to build their own cells. In the year 1878, the first female put in prison was Lizzie Gallagher and the first escape was J.
Lewis. In 1882, a water tower was built and it was put on top of a water tank. In the next couple of years, a Sally port was built, a hospital was established, four prisoners were dead and one was wounded, the first female named Manuela Fimbres gave birth to a baby boy in prison, a women’s cell was built, and dark cells and maximum security cells were built. Over the years, they made modifications to the prison, so it would be secure and strong.
The prison was closed in 1909, but the Yuma High School was at the prison until 1910. Yuma High School is the oldest high school in Yuma Az.