The
Yuma Territorial Prison was authorized in 1875 and opened in 1876 with its
first convict being William Hall. The first female convict, Lizzie Gallagher,
was incarcerated in 1878. Also that year was the first escape by J. Lewis.
The
prison was built along the Colorado River, which provided a ready source of
water. However, hauling water up from the river was not convenient. In 1881,
prison officials constructed a water reservoir.
Inmates
dug a network of tunnels at the base of the hill which would fill with river
water. From there the water was pumped up into the 85,000 gallon granite-walled tank. Inmates also built that. In 1893, after continual pump
breakdowns, prison officials and Yuma Water and Light came to an agreement.
Water was piped to the prison in exchange for electricity produced by the
prison's electric dynamo that had been installed at the prison in 1884.
A
year later in 1882, a guard tower was built on top of the water
reservoir. It provided a clear view of much of the prison yard including the sallyport and entrance to the cells.
To
eliminate evaporation, the platform was built on top of the water
tank. A roof was added, and it became a guard tower. As smaller towers were
added to the wall, this guard stand was glassed-in and heated to provide
sleeping quarters for the guards. A catwalk extended to the top of the wall of
the prison.
After
the prison closed on September 15, 1909, this Tower served various functions, including a civil
defense look out during World War II.
(The photos were taken by me at the Yuma Territorial Prison State Park. Most of the
information in this blog post comes from the information at the prison. If you missed my previous posts about this prison, find May’s by CLICKING
HERE, June’s post about women
inmates by CLICKING
HERE, and July's post about Inmate crafts by CLICKING HERE.
Anyone
who has not yet read my Eastern Sierra Brides 1884 series which takes place
just on the other side of the Sierra Nevada mountains from Columbia and Sonora,
you may find them by searching Amazon for "Eastern Sierra Brides 1884".
It'S great to see places I'll never get to. I love these postings.
ReplyDeleteThank you. After all the rumors I heard about this prison, it was on my "to visit" list for several years before we made a trip to the southern-most edges of Arizona and I was able to see it. I thoroughly enjoyed going and learning about the history of this prison. It is worth the time for anyone who may plan to be anywhere near Yuma.
DeletePrisons are sometimes the forgotten piece of history. Thank you for bringing this piece of past back to life. Doris
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Doris. I really enjoyed learning about the history of this prison.
DeleteI couldn't help but wonder if any of the prisoners might have tried to manage an escape tunnel using the water tunnels from the prison to the reservoir.
ReplyDeleteA very interesting post, Zina.
I'm not sure they used those tunnels particularly, especially with a guard tower on top. However, there were prison escapes and attempts involving tunnels. This prison is built on a rise overlooking the Colorado River, so tunneling down and then out to the side of the hill was attractive.
DeleteZina,
ReplyDeleteTalk about 'hard labor'. Moving rocks then piling rocks an digging tunnels... Holy smokes that takes a lot of manpower. The water tower/guard tower is an imposing structure perched up there on that manmade hill.