Historic Wyoming State Penitentiary
The penitentiary opened in Rawlins in 1901.
Wyoming State Penitentiary District, at 6th and Walnut Streets in Rawlins, Wyoming, is a historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The listing included 14 contributing buildings.
The listing included the original Administration Building, which is a large stone structure designed by Salt Lake City architect Walter E. Ware and built in stages during the 1890s. The design is generally Romanesque in style, including in its type of stonework and features such as a semicircular arch, vermiculated stone sills, short columns with foliated capitals, and cone-shaped roofs on its tower.
It was completed in 1901. The 1901 building is now a museum called the Wyoming Frontier Prison. Visitors can go on guided tours through the old prison. There are exhibits about the old and current prisons and the Wyoming Peace Officers' Museum.
The Ware-designed prison operated for 80 years. Convict Henry Ruhl was executed there in 1945, the only person executed by the U.S. Federal Government in Wyoming. This facility closed as a prison in 1981 when replaced by the current location.
Historic Wyoming State Penitentiary
The penitentiary opened in Rawlins in 1901.
Wyoming State Penitentiary District, at 6th and Walnut Streets in Rawlins, Wyoming, is a historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The listing included 14 contributing buildings.
The listing included the original Administration Building, which is a large stone structure designed by Salt Lake City architect Walter E. Ware and built in stages during the 1890s. The design is generally Romanesque in style, including in its type of stonework and features such as a semicircular arch, vermiculated stone sills, short columns with foliated capitals, and cone-shaped roofs on its tower.
It was completed in 1901. The 1901 building is now a museum called the Wyoming Frontier Prison. Visitors can go on guided tours through the old prison. There are exhibits about the old and current prisons and the Wyoming Peace Officers' Museum.
The Ware-designed prison operated for 80 years. Convict Henry Ruhl was executed there in 1945, the only person executed by the U.S. Federal Government in Wyoming. This facility closed as a prison in 1981 when replaced by the current location.