Previous Site of the Utah State Penitentiary

Previous Site of the Utah State Penitentiary. Prison Life. , All prisoners committed to the Pen in the 1880s were immediately dressed in stripes and had the beards shaved. They were placed in cells five feet wide, seven feet high, and seven feet long. The cells were constructed three tiers high with only candles for lights. There were no bathroom facilities and night buckets called "dunnigans" were standard in all cells, Inmates were required to bathe once every two weeks. Letter writing was restricted to once a week. Religious services were held every Sunday. , Breakfast consisted of black coffee, boiled beef, gravy, and bread. They received boiled beef and soup for dinner. For supper, mush and tea without sugar were served. A vegetable was served once a week. , In the early 1900s, prison inmates knit and made brushes, saddle niches, and shoes. By 1908, inmates were also working on local road construction. By 1935, the prison had its own farm, and 75 percent of the meats and vegetables consumed by prisoners were raised on site., During the 1880s upwards of a thousand men were sent to the Pen for their participation in polygamy. They served between sixty days and eight years in addition to paying fines and court costs. Women were also sent to prison for failure to testify against their husband. , Between 1855 and 1878, 47 of the 240 prisoners housed in the prison had escaped. A lack of guards due to insufficient funding was a major factor. During the 20th century, a road sign along 2100 South was reputed to have stated, "Drive carefully-Prisoners escaping!"