Wyoming State Penitentiary

Wyoming State Penitentiary. . The Wyoming State Penitentiary was constructed in different stages. The first construction occurred three years after statehood in 1893 following authorization by the Wyoming Territorial Legislature and the laying of a cornerstone in 1888. The original cellblock contained 104 cells for individuals, a concept based on the Auburn Plan, which emphasized rehabilitating prisoners. While this state penitentiary was to replace the territorial penitentiary in Laramie, construction was not completed until 1901. , From 1901 to 1911 private parties contracted with the state to operate the prison and hired out prison labor in the community. The Board of Charities and Reform, in 1911 assumed direct operation of the penitentiary and convicts worked on public projects including Wyoming's first state highway system. , During 1914 and 1915 a reinforced concrete wall, 12'' to 18' thick, replaced the wooden stockade formerly ringing the grounds. In 1916, a building was constructed to house a kitchen, dining room, bakery and chapel and, ironically, a hospital and death house. , Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 for its architectural and historic significance, the Wyoming State Pen's buildings can be divided into three stylistic categories: Romanesque, Mission, and Utilitarian. The Romanesque structures - the administration building, cell block A, laundry, guard quarters-powerhouse complex, and commissary - are constructed of locally quarried sandstone. , Inmates' treatment changed as penal philosophies changed. National prison reform movement in the 1920's and 1930's, for example, led to emphasis on rehabilitation. Prisoners worked outside the walls on a prison farm or within the walls in a privately owned shirt factory. Prisoners also went to school. These opportunities disappeared during the depression and world war two. Conditions deteriorated by the mid-1950s and the prisoners rioted. The riot led to more reforms such as work release and educational programs. , By the late 1970's penologists deemed the aging facility unacceptable for housing prisoners. In 1981 the "old" Wyoming Pen closed and the prisoners transferred to a new facility south of town.