Colorado Women's Prison

The Colorado Women’s Prison in Cañon City was built in 1935, after three previous women’s buildings at the State Penitentiary had been appropriated for other uses. Standing just east of the penitentiary walls, the women’s prison housed female inmates from Colorado and several other states until the 1960s, when it became overcrowded and a new Women’s Correctional Facility was constructed. In the 1980s, the old women’s prison was converted into the Museum of Colorado Prisons, which preserves the history of Colorado correctional facilities.

Early Women’s Prisons

In June 1871, the Colorado Territorial Penitentiary opened in Cañon City. In 1876 it became the State Penitentiary. The facility housed mostly male inmates, with female inmates usually kept in small county jails run by local sheriffs and their wives. The first woman sent to the penitentiary, Mary Solander, arrived in March 1873 after being sentenced to three years for manslaughter. She probably posed a problem for the prison administration, which was not used to dealing with women.

The presence of female inmates in a primarily male prison was a continuing problem. By the middle of the 1880s, six women had been sent to the State Penitentiary. As a result, in 1884 the state’s first separate women’s prison was built near the north wall of the penitentiary grounds. It was a small building, with just six cells, but it made Colorado one of the first states in the Rocky Mountains to have a dedicated prison for women.

By the early 1890s, the male prison population was outgrowing the original penitentiary building. In 1893, to free up the existing women’s prison for male inmates, the state legislature appropriated $10,000 to the prison’s female department for a new building outside the penitentiary walls. This two-story, forty-cell women’s prison was completed in 1896, after the state provided an additional $2,500 to cover construction costs.

The 1896 women’s prison housed inmates for about a dozen years. In 1908 another women’s building was added just to the east. It also had two stories and forty cells, and was surrounded by a new wall. The 1896 building was converted into the penitentiary’s hospital, a role that it still serves today.

1935 Building

In the 1920s, the prison population increased rapidly, resulting in severe overcrowding. The famous 1929 riots that rocked the penitentiary were a clear symptom of the problem. Warden F. E. Crawford wanted to expand the facility, but he had no room—a long hill blocked expansion to the west, and the women’s prison stood in the way to the east. Crawford asked the state legislature for money to build a new women’s prison, but before the plan came to fruition he was removed from office for his handling of the 1929 riots.

In 1932 the Board of Corrections recommended that a new women’s prison be built just east of the main prison walls and the existing women’s prison be converted to house the most disruptive male inmates. Under the new warden, Roy Best, inmates started to build the new women’s prison in 1934. It cost about $27,380 and was completed in 1935. At thirty cells, it was smaller than the previous women’s building, clearly the result of a belief that the number of female prisoners would stay low. With its smooth stucco facade and low-pitched roof, the Mediterranean-inspired design of the women’s prison influenced later Mediterranean-style buildings at other prison facilities in Fremont County.

In the early twentieth century, when judges had more latitude in sentencing than they do today, women tended to be convicted of fewer violent crimes and to receive shorter sentences than men. The inmates in the women’s prison were, however, the most serious offenders in the state, since lesser offenders were often kept in county jails. Three matrons worked round-the-clock shifts to administer the prison, guard the inmates, and attend to their needs.

The prison offered few vocational opportunities or work programs for female inmates. Instead, inmates usually spent their time doing the domestic work necessary to keep the prison functioning, such as cooking, cleaning, and laundry. Conditions in the women’s prison, however, were generally considered above average for a prison at the time. The inmates could also work in the prison’s flower and vegetable gardens. Volunteers from outside the prison came to teach sewing, music, and other skills.

Not all states had women’s prisons, so Colorado sometimes housed female inmates from Wyoming, Utah, and South Dakota. By 1960 overcrowding became a problem, and the state had to stop accepting out-of-state inmates. Soon the building was no longer adequate to hold Colorado’s female inmates. The state spent $1.1 million to build the new, larger Women’s Correctional Facility nearby with ninety beds. It opened in January 1968, when forty-two women were transferred there from the existing prison.

Museum

After the new Women’s Correctional Facility opened, the old building housed protective-custody male inmates until 1978. In 1979 the building was used for SWAT team training. After that, the Department of Corrections could no longer afford to maintain it, so it stood vacant.

In 1982 local citizens came up with the idea of turning the women’s building into a prison museum, an idea that quickly gained traction. Soon the state legislature passed a bill allowing the Department of Corrections to lease the building to Cañon City, which could then sublease it to the museum. After an extensive fundraising campaign, the building was renovated to stabilize the structure, add new heating and lighting systems, and improve visitor access.

The museum opened to the public in June 1988. Each of the original thirty cells houses exhibits on topics such as prison life, famous inmates, the 1929 riots, and Warden Roy Best. More than 20,000 people visit the museum each year.

The Colorado Women’s Prison in Cañon City was built in 1935. Three previous women’s buildings at the State Penitentiary had been appropriated for other uses. Standing just east of the penitentiary walls, the women’s prison housed female inmates from Colorado and several other states until the 1960s. It became overcrowded and a new Women’s Correctional Facility was constructed. In the 1980s, the old women’s prison was converted into the Museum of Colorado Prisons, which preserves the history of Colorado correctional facilities.

Early Women’s Prisons

In June 1871, the Colorado Territorial Penitentiary opened in Cañon City. In 1876 it became the State Penitentiary. The facility housed mostly male inmates. Female inmates were usually kept in small county jails run by local sheriffs and their wives. The first woman sent to the penitentiary, Mary Solander, arrived in March 1873 after being sentenced to three years for manslaughter. She probably posed a problem for the prison administration, which was not used to dealing with women.

The presence of female inmates in a primarily male prison was a continuing problem. By the middle of the 1880s, six women had been sent to the State Penitentiary. As a result, in 1884 the state’s first separate women’s prison was built near the north wall of the penitentiary grounds. It was a small building, with just six cells. It made Colorado one of the first states in the Rocky Mountains to have a dedicated prison for women.

By the early 1890s, the male prison population was outgrowing the original penitentiary building. In 1893 the state legislature appropriated $10,000 to the prison’s female department for a new building outside the penitentiary walls. This would free up the existing women’s prison to house male inmates. This two-story, forty-cell women’s prison was completed in 1896. The 1896 women’s prison housed inmates for about a dozen years. In 1908 another women’s building was added just to the east. It also had two stories and forty cells, and was surrounded by a new wall. The 1896 building was converted into the penitentiary’s hospital, a role that it still serves today.

1935 Building

In the 1920s, the prison population increased rapidly, resulting in severe overcrowding. The famous 1929 riots that rocked the penitentiary were a clear symptom of the problem. Warden F. E. Crawford wanted to expand the facility, but he had no room. A long hill blocked expansion to the west, and the women’s prison stood in the way to the east. Crawford asked the state legislature for money to build a new women’s prison. Before the plan came to fruition, he was removed from office for his handling of the 1929 riots.

In 1932 the Board of Corrections recommended that a new women’s prison be built just east of the main prison walls and the existing women’s prison be converted to house the most disruptive male inmates. Under the new warden, Roy Best, inmates started to build the new women’s prison in 1934. It cost about $27,380 and was completed in 1935. At thirty cells, it was smaller than the previous women’s building; administrators believed that the number of female prisoners would stay low. It had a smooth stucco facade and low-pitched roof. This Mediterranean-inspired design of the women’s prison influenced later buildings at other prisons in Fremont County.

In the early twentieth century, judges had more latitude in sentencing than they do today.  Women tended to be convicted of fewer violent crimes and received shorter sentences than men. But the inmates in the women’s prison were the most serious offenders in the state. Lesser offenders were often kept in county jails. Three matrons worked round-the-clock shifts to administer the prison, stand guard, and attend to inmates’ needs.

The prison offered few vocational opportunities or work programs for female inmates. Instead, inmates usually spent their time doing the domestic work necessary to keep the prison functioning, such as cooking, cleaning, and laundry. Conditions in the women’s prison were generally considered above average for a prison at the time. The inmates could also work in the prison’s flower and vegetable gardens. Volunteers from outside the prison came to teach sewing, music, and other skills.

Not all states had women’s prisons. Colorado sometimes housed female inmates from Wyoming, Utah, and South Dakota. By 1960 overcrowding became a problem, and the state had to stop accepting out-of-state inmates. Soon the building was no longer adequate to hold Colorado’s female inmates. The state spent $1.1 million to build the new, larger Women’s Correctional Facility nearby with ninety beds. It opened in January 1968, when forty-two women who were transferred from the existing prison.

Museum

After the new Women’s Correctional Facility opened, the old building housed protective-custody male inmates until 1978. In 1979 the building was used for SWAT team training. After that, the Department of Corrections could no longer afford to maintain it, so it stood vacant.

In 1982 local citizens came up with the idea of turning the women’s building into a prison museum. The idea quickly gained traction. Soon the state legislature passed a bill allowing the Department of Corrections to lease the building to Cañon City. They could then sublease it to the museum. After an extensive fundraising campaign, the building was renovated to stabilize the structure. They added new heating and lighting systems and improved visitor access.

The museum opened to the public in June 1988. Each of the original thirty cells houses exhibits on topics such as prison life, famous inmates, the 1929 riots, and Warden Roy Best. More than 20,000 people visit the museum each year.

The Colorado Women’s Prison in Cañon City was built in 1935. The women’s prison housed female inmates from Colorado and several other states until the 1960s. It became overcrowded and a new Women’s Correctional Facility was constructed. In the 1980s, the old women’s prison was converted into the Museum of Colorado Prisons. The museum preserves the history of Colorado correctional facilities.

Early Women’s Prisons

In June 1871, the Colorado Territorial Penitentiary opened in Cañon City. In 1876 it became the State Penitentiary. The prison had mostly male inmates. Female inmates were usually kept in small county jails run by local sheriffs and their wives. The first woman sent to the penitentiary was Mary Solander. She arrived in March 1873 after being sentenced to three years for manslaughter. She probably posed a problem for the prison administration. They were not used to dealing with women.

Female inmates in a mainly male prison was a continuing problem. By the mid-1880s, six women had been sent to the State Penitentiary. So, in 1884 the state built its first women’s prison near the north wall of the prison grounds. It was a small building, with just six cells. Colorado was one of the first states in the Rocky Mountains to have a prison for women.

By the early 1890s, the male prison population was outgrowing the original building. In 1893 a new building was constructed outside the prison walls. This two-story, forty-cell women’s prison was completed in 1896. The old women’s prison was used to house male inmates. In 1908 another women’s building was added. It also had two stories and forty cells, and was surrounded by a new wall. The 1896 building was turned into the prison’s hospital. It is still the prison hospital today.

1935 Building

The prison population grew in the 1920s. It became very crowded. Overcrowding led to riots in 1929. Warden F. E. Crawford wanted to enlarge the prison, but there was no room. The women’s prison was in the way.  Before the warden could build a new prison, he was removed from office for his handling of the 1929 riots.

In 1932 the Board of Corrections recommended that a new women’s prison be built. They relocated male inmates into the old women’s prison. Roy Best, the new warden, had inmates build the new women’s prison in 1934. It was completed in 1935. With thirty cells, it was smaller than the first women’s building. Officials thought that the number of female prisoners would stay low. The building had a smooth stucco front and low-pitched roof. This was a design that was later used at other prisons.

In the early twentieth century, women were convicted of fewer violent crimes. They received shorter prison sentences than men. The inmates in Colorado’s women’s prison had committed serious crimes. Women who committed lower-level crimes were often kept in county jails.

The prison offered few work programs for female inmates. Instead, inmates usually spent their time doing domestic work. Their jobs were cooking, cleaning, and laundry. The inmates could also work in the prison’s flower and vegetable gardens. Volunteers from outside the prison came to teach sewing, music, and other skills.

Not all states had women’s prisons. Colorado sometimes had female inmates from Wyoming, Utah, and South Dakota. By 1960 the women’s prison was overcrowded again. The state had to stop accepting out-of-state inmates. Soon the building was no longer large enough to hold Colorado’s female inmates. The state built a new, larger Women’s Correctional Facility nearby. It had ninety beds and opened in January 1968.

Museum

After the new Women’s Prison opened, the old building housed male inmates until 1978. In 1979 the building was used for SWAT team training. After that, the Department of Corrections did not have the money to maintain it, so it stood empty.

In 1982 local citizens came up with the idea of turning the women’s building into a prison museum. The museum opened to the public in June 1988. Each of the original thirty cells has its own exhibit. Topics include prison life, famous inmates, the 1929 riots, and Warden Roy Best. More than 20,000 people visit the museum each year.