Tour The Eerie Wyoming Frontier Prison To Take A Look Back In Time
By Kim Magaraci|Published March 17, 2021
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Kim Magaraci
Author
Kim Magaraci graduated Rutgers University with a degree in Geography and has spent the last seven years as a freelance travel writer. Contact: kmagaraci@onlyinyourstate.com
Wyoming’s history is littered with tales of the wild, lawless west. Thanks in part to the remote nature of the state, thousands of outlaws made this their home, and thousands of lawmen came out west to track their targets. While many outlaws lived life on the run and escaped in the end, hundreds of others were not so fortunate. To hear their tales, visit the Wyoming Frontier Prison Museum, right in the middle of Rawlins.
One of the most interesting buildings you'll see in Rawlins is the looming, castle-like Wyoming Frontier Prison Museum.
The museum offers guided tours of three different cell blocks!
The Prison was known as the Wyoming State Penitentiary, and it was occupied by bandits, bank robbers, horse thieves and other criminals for 80 years - from 1901 through 1981.
Take a look at the guard towers when you step into the yard! These walls were designed to be too slick and straight for anyone to climb, and too thick to hammer through.
When you tour the Wyoming Fronteir Prison Museum, you'll learn all about the history of crime in the Wild West, hear about legendary outlaws who spent time here, and maybe even hear a ghost tale or two...