Corrections Capital

Corrections Capital. . When Colorado Territorial Prison opened in June 1871 just west of Cañon City, it drew a mixed reception from law-abiding locals , some daunted by the possibility of felons on the loose, others eager for the jobs and services that came with the facility. Over time the economic benefits outweighed the hazards of the occasional jailbreak, and by the early twentieth century the prison had emerged as one of Fremont County's key assets. Indeed, local leaders actively courted new institutions housing ever-larger numbers of convicts. Though this proliferation of cells made some residents jittery, no one minded the attendant profits. The county brought in four new federal penitentiaries in 1994, including an ultra-high-security building called SuperMax for the nation's most dangerous criminals. These additions raised Fremont County’s total of state and federal prisons to thirteen., Skyline Drive , Fremont County hardly suffered from the convicts’ presence; on the contrary, local communities made good use of the involuntary tenants. In 1905 Cañon City officials employed convict work crews to build scenic Skyline Drive, making an otherwise expensive construction job downright affordable (it cost taxpayers just $1,200). Based on that success, area leaders began using prison laborers for various infrastructure projects, most notably U.S. Highway 50. In addition to giving inmates a breath of fresh air, these work programs yielded tangible public benefits and made the prisons seem less threatening. By the early twenty-first century, Fremont County had come to accept its unusual industry, even to take pride in it. Today it bills itself as the “Corrections Capital of the World.”