I was driving through Laramie, Wyoming last summer and stopped at a gas-station to fill-up and get a snack when I noticed the black-and-white face of Butch Cassidy gazing at me steadily from beneath the rim of his bowler hat. As I looked around, I saw the same face, decorating the front of t-shirts, shot glasses and magnets up and down each aisle. As I stared, the attendant called out, “that’s Butch Cassidy. He escaped from every prison they ever put him in,” he said, “’cept one.” That one was the Wyoming Territorial Prison.
Welcome Center at the Wyoming Territorial Prison
I had seen signs for this Wyoming State Park for several miles back. It was just off the next exit, so I decided to pull-in for a visit.
Beyond the happy flower-beds and gift shop at the entrance, loomed what was once one of the oldest and most-fascinating prisons in the American West. Built in 1872, the prison was burdened by problems almost immediately as a fire engulfed parts of the towering sandstone structure and nearly a quarter of the prisoners escaped.
The Wyoming Territorial State Prison
The broad hallways within are lined with rows of tiny cells and surveilled by guard-stations perched high upon the stone walls. The hand-stacked brick lining the cells emits a dank, curious odor that immediately made me wonder what storied lives had imprinted themselves into the stones themselves.
As if to answer my question, the hallways were lined enormous black and white photos of some of the inmates, along with a brief history of their crime and time inside.
Inmate at the Wyoming Territorial Prison
The soulful eyes of one gentleman stared down at me as I read his story: He and his wife worked for a Rancher who repeatedly, it is believed, assaulted his wife. One night, his wife killed the Rancher while trying to defend herself. Her husband, the man who’s face is permanently captured in the photo, took the blame and the sentence.
The Wyoming Territorial Prison not only gives you a sense of what prison was like in the American West, but also what life was like for the people of Wyoming during that important historical era. The lives of the prisoners and guards leapt from the displays, giving a better sense of Wyoming history than any other historical site I visited this year.
But for me, seeing the faces of the lesser-known convicts, both men and women, their guards and wardens, gave me the truest sense of life for the people that once lived inside these walls.
Cell at the Wyoming Territorial State Prison
I found my way out of the prison and across a short walkway to the adjacent prison broom factory. A large front-door was
Female Inmate at the Wyoming Territorial Prison
propped open, revealing rows of woven straw-brooms hanging from the ceiling, the breeze from outside ruffled the edges of the straw and muddled an earthy scent through the air. I thought I was alone when I was shaken by a loud voice. “Good morning!”
I looked past a pile of straw to see one of the park volunteers repairing the bindings of one broom with a long needle and twine. He explained that the prisoners made brooms here while the prison was in operation, and that now the Park made the brooms for education and sale.
His name was Greg, and he and his wife volunteer at this Wyoming State Park in exchange for a free camping spot (also known as, workcamping). The retired couple stays at the park six months out of the year, then travels the other six months where his wife practices photography. Through volunteering, Greg also discovered a love for artisan broom-making and studied the craft until he could create the brooms himself.
volunteering at a State Historic site part of the year!
Workcamper Volunteers at the Wyoming Territorial State Prison –See the RV?
I walked an adjacent nature trail around the grounds of the Park, digesting all I had seen and heard within the walls of the prison and beyond. As I rounded the final corner, I discovered a preserved Western town that anchored the trail. Just beyond, in perfect relief, I saw the Park Volunteer’s RV’s all camped in a row.
I felt overwhelmed with gratitude: I could jump in my RV and go wherever I wanted. I was free. Sometimes, it takes a little history to remind us how extraordinary our lives are, and The Wyoming Territorial Prison gave me this reminder. Go and visit; it’s worth it.
Thank you for reading! And, let’s help other people discover everything the RV life offers by Sharing, Liking and Subscribing.
Be Happy. Create More. Set Yourself Free .
Robin
CreativityRV
Subscribe to Blog via Email
Creativity RV is on YouTube! Click hereto visit the channel. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE!
