Laramie, as a town, has a fascinating history, no matter where you look. From being located on the original route of the transcontinental railway, to the Laramie Plains Museum located in the Ivinson mansion. But probably the most notable historical site in town is the Wyoming Territorial Prison, located just west of the Laramie River.
The old prison is now a state historical site and has plenty of things to do for anyone willing to venture out for a day. The museum is open 9AM-4 PM daily during the summertime, and admission is $9 for both adults and seniors and $4.50 for anyone under the age of 12-17. Kids under that can go for free!
But what is the Territorial Prison, and why is it so important to both the history of our state and the history of the town? Well, in 1872, the prison was opened as a federal penitentiary and is one of the oldest buildings currently in Wyoming. It had some troubles in its early years, with numerous jailbreaks and a fire taking place, but eventually, in 1890, the prison became a prison for the state of Wyoming. This didn’t last long, however, as the state of Wyoming already had another plan for their state prison in Rawlins, and the Territorial Prison was closed in 1903 and then given to the University of Wyoming.
The most famous inmate at the prison during its operation was the infamous Butch Cassidy, who led his “Wild Bunch” on a variety of escapades throughout the old west. He was imprisoned there from 1894-1896, before escaping and eventually making his way down to South America for the last part of his life. Now, there’s an excellent exhibit dedicated solely to his life at the museum, which is one of the highlights of visiting.
In addition to learning about Butch Cassidy, there’s also a variety of other inmates’ stories posted around the prison, showing what life was like for someone incarcerated back then. One of the more interesting areas at the Prison is the broom factory, where prisoners made brooms in order to raise revenue for the prison. Some prisoners had sad stories, whereas others were able to make it out on good behavior, with one notable prisoner completely changing his life around and making a new start for himself in Laramie.
If you get tired of learning about incarcerated folk on your trip, you can also take a look at the Science on the Range exhibit, which tells a little bit about when the prison was used by the University of Wyoming as an agricultural experiment station, up until 1989.
So, if you’re looking to learn a lot about our state’s history as well as some interesting agricultural tidbits, make sure to check out the Wyoming State Territorial Prison! It’s a great visit for anyone in Laramie whether you’ve been here for a while or just got here.
