Boys'+School

The 1911 Legislature enacted the laws providing for the Industrial Institute. It was four years, however, before the original buildings and farm were ready for use. Originally, the institution was conceived as a training center in farming skills, and suggestions were apparently made that girls as well as boys be taken into custody under its care. Younger inmates from the state penitentiary under twenty-five years old were transferred to the new facility in 1915, and those younger boys formerly transported to Colorado for confinement under juvenile delinquency charges were returned to Wyoming.
 * Wyoming Boys' School **

In 1939 the superintendent reported that fifty-three boys were in residence at the institution. Since that year, the number of boys charged to the institution's care has doubled despite a reduction in the range of ages served. Men as old as twenty-five were by law allowed to be sentenced to the institution, and records indicate that some first offenders well over this age were committed during the early years of this century. In 1947 a change in state laws lowered the admissible age to the twenty-first birthday. The minimum age for commitment has remained unchanged at ten years.

Growth of building has more than kept pace with population increase in order to provide suitable services for them. Two of the three original buildings still stand: the administration and the inmate housing structure, now used as apartment space for employees. The present administration and living quarters building was erected in 1926 and originally provided single boy cell-type living spaces. These cells were converted into units for two or more boys, with increasing attention to dormitory rather than jail-like atmosphere, beginning shortly after World War II. The last floor of cells, unused for some period of time, was demolished and replaced by a modern living area in 1964. A modern gymnasium was erected in 1957, replacing a small inadequate basketball floor which became a classroom area. The 1963 State Legislature approved building funds for construction of the new school building and major additions to the living quarters. With further remodeling of the boys' quarters, as many as six widely varied living programs will now be possible to allow for individual differences in ages, interests, and social adjustment.

Training for work has always been a major purpose of the institution, although the emphasis on farm labor has changed in keeping with a changing United States. For many years, practical experience, and some training, has been available in the machinery repair shop, on maintenance crews, and in the kitchen and laundry. Vocational preparation through intensive training is available in the auto mechanics shop. A program in cooperation with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation has made possible vocational school or on-the-job training for many boys seventeen years of age and older. New programs available through the Wyoming Employment Service have also resulted in several placements.