State+Penitentiary

Wyoming, prior to 1872, sent its convicts to the Detroit House of Correction. A forty-two cell penitentiary, which was built at Laramie by the Federal Government, charged such high rates for housing the prisoners continued to be sent elsewhere. Between 1882 and 1887, Wyoming prisoners were kept without charge at Joliet in exchange for their labor. An investigation showed that there were only ten inmates in the federal penitentiary at Laramie in 1884. In the late 1880's, when the practice of "farming out" the prisoners stopped, the penitentiary became so overcrowded that a wing had to be added.

In 1888, the territorial Legislature specified that a penitentiary should be erected in or near the city of Rawlins at a cost not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars. When constructed, the prison lay a considerable distance from the town of Rawlins, but as the years went by the community grew until it reached the main building. The prison property now embraces 65.31 acres. The penitentiary complex consists of the following buildings: administration, which includes the trusty dormitory on the upper two floors; two four-story cell blocks that can contain 288 inmates; one maximum security block that can contain thirty-six inmates; one large dining area with an auditorium above it; and the gymnasium and chapel, both above the maximum security block. Separate buildings inside the wall enclosure include the laundry; the hospital with the admissions facility and the death house above it; and the industrial building, which houses the license plate factory, sign shop factory, shoe repair shop, mattress shop, garment shop, and four vocational training units - electronics, carpentry, lithography, and auto mechanics. Outside the walled enclosure are the following buildings: residences of the warden, deputy warden, and administrative assistant; one large garage with welding shop in the lower section, machine shop, and warehouse; another large building containing the butcher shop, auto garage and repair, carpentry and electrical shop, barber shop, trusty day room, boiler room and storage areas; a large quonset, which houses penitentiary trucks and equipment; and the license plate factory warehouse. Additionally there is a twelve-room guard quarters above the auto garage.