Yuma Territorial Prison- WOMEN INMATES

When the Yuma Territorial Prison was designed and constructed in 1876, the builders never contemplated women prisoners. The arrival of those 29 women over 30 years often caused chaos.

Unidentified female inmates-Yuma Territorial Prison

In 1878, Lizzie Gallagher became the first female prisoner at Yuma Territorial Prison. She began serving her sentence for manslaughter, but with no provision for female prisoners she was kept in solitary confinement. After just 42 days, Lizzie was pardoned and released.

Manuela Fimbres, gave birth to a baby boy in 1889 while serving time for accessory to murder. The baby stayed with her in the prison for 2 years after which she was pardoned because of concern for the child. Manuela proved to be a troublesome inmate, and for that reason the guards were happy to see her leave. However, they all missed the young child.

In 1893, a separate women's Ward was finally completed. The room was carved out of the Granite Hillside by inmate labor.

A women's yard was constructed on the west end of the ward for recreation, but was destroyed when Southern Pacific Railroad built a new rail line in 1922 that operates to this day.

Elena Estrada was in prison for a crime of passion she was sentenced to seven years for manslaughter, when she stabbed her unfaithful lover then cut open his chest, pulled out his heart, and threw the bloody mass into his face.

Maria Marino was imprisoned for the murder of her brother. Alfred Marino, age 15, did not like the way his sister, Maria, age 16 was dancing and told her to stop. Maria threatened to kill him, and Alfred said, “Kill me then!” So Maria got a shotgun and shot her brother in the face, killing him instantly.

Pearl Hart was probably the most famous female inmates. There is quite an attractive display about her in the prison museum.

Pearl's number in

Yuma Territorial Prison

Along with Joe Boot, she robbed the globe to Florence Stagecoach. She became a media sensation around the entire country.

She was sentenced to five years in Yuma.  She used her feminine wiles with both the prisoners and the guards alike, using her position as the only female at an all-male facility to her advantage in an effort to improve her situation. After serving three years of her sentence, Pearl Hart was released December 1902 after being pardoned by Arizona Territorial Governor Brodie. The reason for this pardon, given on the condition she leave the territory, is unclear.

(The photos are mine, but except for the information from Wikipedia, many of them were taken of display materials at the Yuma Territorial Prison State Park. Most of the information in this blog post comes from the same source. If you missed last month's post about the Yuma Territorial Prison, you may read it by CLICKING HERE.)

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The third book, Her Independent Spirit, touches on Independence Day, 1884. More importantly, it touches on the efforts of two women in the gold mining town of Lundy to declare their own independence from their current circumstances. It also includes an event in Lundy’s history that changed the dynamics of the town from that point forward. You may find this book by CLICKING HERE.