Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park

Banner image by Scotwriter, courtesy of Wikipedia

Built in 1876, Yuma Territorial Prison held inmates for 33 years. Inmates were moved to a larger facility in Florence in 1909. At one point, the prison had the largest library (some 2,000 books) in the Arizona Territory! After use as a prison, the structures were used by a number of organizations, including a high school and a hospital, and homeless families sheltered in the cells during the Great Depression. Calls for the complex’s preservation began in the 1930s. It was dedicated and opened to the public as a state park in 1961. The park includes a visitor center and museum, guard tower, sally port, cell blocks, nature trail, and picnic areas.