OLD WYOMING STATE PENITENTIARY

I had a plan for the day. It began with a couple of doughnuts at the Daylight Donuts. Shortly after, plans changed.
You see, I was going up into the mountains to South Pass City Historical Site. South Pass City is where the Oregon Trail crossed the Continental Divide and there were gold mines in the area. But hey, a little rain shouldn't keep me away.
Yeah, but a lot of snow did. Visibility got short, the road was getting icy and slushy and I didn't fancy skidding off in the middle of nowhere. Besides, if this much snow was at South Pass City, there wouldn't have been much to see if it was open at all.
So I headed back north on the road and started driving east as I would have done anyway. I drove past my town.
Split Rock is a famous natural landmark used by Native Americans, trappers and emigrants on the Oregon Trail. It makes sense as it is quite distinctive.
Because of the snow and slush, the front sensor on the Escape was covered and the cruise control would not operate until I stopped and cleared it off.
So I decided to look and see if there was some other attraction in the area. I discovered the Wyoming Pioneer Prison in Rawlins which is the closed Wyoming State Penitentiary and now a museum.
Hey, look! Blue sky!
I guess when you are behind fences like the Japanese Americans in Heart Mountain or prison bars like these prisoners, you want to start a band.
I wonder if they just happened to find people to play all of the instruments or if some of them had to learn.
So originally on Family Guy, Cleveland Brown, Jr. was a little child. Then on The Cleveland Show he was an obese kid. Then he became a rapist and murderer and was executed.
The Turnkey Office. The prison opened in 1901.
Just past the Turnkey Office is the Visitation Room.
Cell Block A was the first.
A cot, a sink and a toilet. What more do you need?
I hope the prison barber took good care of his razors and scissors. Wouldn't want to lose track of any of them.
The prison library.
I would make a comment about dropping the soap in the prison shower, but that's a hackneyed joke.
I think this is Cell Block B but I could be wrong.
A couple of solitary confinement cells.
The prison kitchen.
And the dining hall.
Don't even think about loafing.
I hope I can remember this story correctly. There was a woman in town who used to bake things for the prisoners. One of the prisoners was released and later murdered the woman, landing himself righr back in prison. The other prisoners were not happy about that, so they hanged him from this fourth floor balcony.
The exercise yard.
Death row.
This is where the condemned would wait to be hanged.
The hook in the ceiling held the rope.
They used the Julien Gallows, which was a device that used a bucket of water that slowly drained, eventually triggering a bar that released the trap door. It was a method that meant no person would be responsible for actually pulling the lever and hanging a man. Nine prisoners were executed this way.
Five more were executed in this gas chamber.
Cell Bock C.
When you are particularly bad you got sent to the hole. The cells aren't there anymore, but this one was just big enough to be able to lie down.
This one was not. I think it was 4 feet square.
The space was later converted to a school.
The guards would be stationed on this screened walkway.
I needed a fill-up before heading north, so I stopped at the Loaf 'N Jug. It must have been owned by the Kroger Company because of the logo. The obese man walking to his car would soon be followed by his obese wife.
I do so love the wide open spaces out west.

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