Yuma Territorial Prison, Former territorial prison in Yuma, United States.
Yuma Territorial Prison is a former correctional facility on the banks of the Colorado River in the southwestern United States. The site includes preserved cells, a guard tower structure, and an exhibition area displaying documents and photographs from the years it operated.
The facility received its first inmates in 1876 and remained operational until 1909. After closing, the building served briefly as a school before eventually opening to the public.
The prison's name comes from the Arizona Territory, which ran the site from its opening in 1876 until it closed in 1909. Among the 3,069 inmates were 29 women, including the stagecoach robber Pearl Hart. After the prison shut, Yuma Union High School used the old cellblocks as classrooms from 1910 to 1914; its teams took the nickname "Crims" after Phoenix rivals mocked them as criminals.
The grounds are open daily except on Christmas Day and work well for a late morning or early afternoon visit. Pathways between the cells and museum are easy to walk, though some areas run over uneven ground.
The stone wall below the deck carries a sign reading "YUMA TERRA TORIAL PRISON" and "GEORGE TOWER", a detail many visitors walk past. The prison held 3,069 inmates between 1876 and 1909, 29 of them women, and 104 prisoners are buried in the site's graveyard. After the prison closed, Yuma Union High School used the cellblocks as classrooms from 1910 to 1914.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,947 contributors worldwide.
