Haunted Wyoming

Wyoming Frontier Prison 

 

HAUNTED PLACE: Wyoming Frontier Prison at Rawlins

ADDRESS:

500 W Walnut Street,
Rawlins, Wyoming 82301.
(307) 324-4422

Tours are given at this prison. The museum on the first floor and gift shop are free. The grounds and some of the buildings are available for events.

LOCATION:

MAP

The austere looking, stone Wyoming Frontier Prison at Rawlins can be found on a huge piece of property which is on W. Walnut Street which runs between 3rd Street on the east and 7th Street on the west.

DESCRIPTION AND HISTORY:

This castle-like granite stone fortress was designed by the same architects who were responsible for Alcatraz.  Land was bought from the railroad in 1888, and construction was started, funded by the state of Wyoming. The prison wasn't finished and ready for business until 1901, because of the need for more money. It was costing more than what was budgeted.

It became home to the roughest lot of inmates, and others convicted of lesser crimes, who were transferred from the prison in Laramie. Almost right away, the prison became overcrowded, as the criminal justice system was cranked up a notch to clean out the criminals doing their killings and misdeeds in Wyoming towns, with the goal of  civilizing Wyoming. In 1904, an additional 34 cells were built onto the west end of the cell house to relieve overcrowding.

The concept of reform at this time was to break the spirits of hardened criminals and force conformity, with the hope that the criminal would conform to society's rules. Wyoming Frontier Prison at Rawlins was equipped with 104, dark, cramped cells in its cell house, but with no electricity or running water, and an inadequate heating system. Hot water wasn't available in the cells until 1978!

In 1906, a dungeon house was finished to house the most difficult, violent inmates to try to punish them into submission, in an effort to improve the prison's atmosphere and discipline system.  While this step of moving the most disturbed men out of the general prison population was a welcomed improvement, much more was needed in keeping control of the inmates, a rowdy and unpredictable lot.

The Wyoming Frontier Prison at Rawlins had woeful security to adequately handle the kind of folks who made up their growing prison population. It was considered too rough for women, and the last woman inmate was transferred in 1909.  Women were not segregated from the general male population as they were at the Laramie prison, and perhaps something happened to expedite the exodus of women. 

It took awhile to establish the level of maximum security needed to keep its inmates in-house; foiling escapes and stopping some bad behavior and needless killing within its walls and outside as well.

Weapons on occasion were smuggled into the prison: Guard Ed Samuelson was killed by a gun, shot by an inmate, also armed with dynamite, trying to escape in 1907.

Inmates had been escaping, as early as 1903. An escape attempt was foiled in 1911, at the price of a guard's life.  In 1912 alone, thirty prisoners escaped through the wooden stockade and barbed wire on two consecutive days, some of whom killed a Rawlin resident, Charles Stressner.

Finally in 1915, the concrete walls and towers were at last finished which stopped any more mass escape attempts, until 1927, when 7 prisoners escaped on two different occasions.

The inmates throughout the years were kept employed making broomsticks, shirts, and did their part for the WW2 war effort by making the highest quality woolen blankets for the military.  The prison was awarded the Navy E award!  After the war, inmates made license plates as well.

Throughout the following years up to 1966, new cell blocks and other buildings and additions were eventually added when a need was really evident. In the 1950s, two new cell blocks were built to house 331 inmates. In 1966, Cell Block C was built, having 36 cells for "serious discipline cases."  "The Old Hole" was turned into more classrooms.

Prisoner executions began in 1912 when the death house was finished.

From 1912 - 1933, inmates in the death house were hung on an awful invention, called The Julien Gallows, where condemned prisoners were forced to kill themselves. By stepping onto a trap door, a stream of water was started which eventually opened the trap door, causing the condemned to drop through the trap door.  Unfortunately, this do-it-yourself gallows didn't drop the condemned man far enough to break his neck, and they died a slow death through strangulation. Nine men were hung in his fashion.

What I don't understand is that the authorities must have known that the condemned prisoners didn't fall far enough to be properly hung. Why didn't they fix it? No one seemed to care. YIKES!

Finally, a hydrocyanic acid gas chamber was installed in 1936 to do a more humane job of executing condemned men, and was used for execution, up until 1965.

The prison was closed in 1981, after 80 years of service. It became a museum  under the ownership of Old Pen Joint Powers Board, who have done a fine job in its renovation, upkeep, and earning funds through tours and renting the buildings out to groups for various events.

HISTORY OF MANIFESTATIONS:

Many prisons are haunted because of the nature of incarceration, and what happens in places of confinement which are filled with tough characters with mean spirits, warped perceptions and bad attitudes.  Murders in-house and death by execution also creates restless spirits.

(Ohio State Reformatory * Burlington Prison * Alcatraz * Idaho State Penitentiary
* Minneapolis City Hall)

Yikes!!!  After studying its history, Wyoming Frontier Prison at Rawlins was a very violent, oppressive prison, which has generated a lot of negative energy, and restless spirits which are still there today.

 There are many possible causes for the hauntings experienced in this prison. 

The gloomy, depressing atmosphere and being imprisoned in such hard conditions and poor treatment from both inmates and the staff often causes hauntings.

As it is in prisons today, the meaner inmates bullied the more milder inmates, humiliating and terrorizing them. They hadn't figured out the need to have two types of prisons; Minimum security for lesser criminals and maximum security for the violent folks.

To intimidate the other inmates, the skin from a condemned man who tried to fight his way out of the death house was made into a pair of shoes. His head was given as a present to friend of the warden.

Some prisoners cracked under the pressure and committed suicide by throwing themselves off the upper floors of the cell blocks.

Inmates held in the Dungeon House and Black Hole suffered from the conditions there.

Two inmates even died of the cold, which stopped the prison from using those particular cells until a better heating system could be offered in a newer, improved version of the Dungeon House.

Some were probably mentally ill, and were often filled with rage on the level of insanity.

A guard who worked at tower 9, committed suicide. The stress of work got the better of him.

Activity in the Death House

Nine men were strangled to death due to the Julien Gallows.

Five men were executed in the gas chamber.

People were killed in the Prison

Some prisoners, like inmate James Williams was killed trying to escape, or killed themselves before being recaptured.

An inmate was lynched by a mob of fellow inmates because he had raped an elderly woman.

As is the case in other rougher prisons, other inmates were killed by other inmates in fights.

Guards were killed by prisoners, over the prison's long history.

MANIFESTATIONS:

Although they are freed through their deaths, some entities still call the prison home, perhaps afraid to go to the other side, or can't let go of this world and their old reality.

Prisoner Cell Blocks:

Apparitions are seen out of the corner of visitor's eyes.

In various cells throughout the cell blocks, unseen presences are  felt and disembodied voices are heard.

The Black Hole - The Dungeon House

An angry, crazed presence is said to threaten anyone who dares to enter certain sections.

The Death House.

Some sensitives have felt an increase of pressure on the chest and a feeling of anxiety as they climbed the steps to the death house.

A reflection of an apparition of a man wearing a brimmed hat was seen in the room where the men were executed by the hanging/strangling contraption.

STILL HAUNTED?

Yes indeed!

Tour guides and visitors alike are witnesses to the lively paranormal occurrences which take place in various areas of this prison.

 

Wyoming Territorial Prison 

 

HAUNTED PLACE: Wyoming Territorial Prison at Laramie State Park

ADDRESS:

975 Snowy Range Road, Laramie, Wyoming 82070.

LOCATION:

Wyoming Territorial Prison is located in Laramie, just off I-80, exit 311, Snowy Range Road.

Hours: April - Oct. 9 a.m.-6 p.m.  Prison is closed Nov. 1st - April 30th.

Tour Duration Walking  self-tour: 1.5 - 3 hours

HISTORY:

This prison was built in 1872, after being authorized by the Territorial Legislature and approved for funding by the Federal Government.  It was a smaller prison, beginning with just 42 cells in the north wing, 14 cells on each of its three levels. The brick-walled cells were 6' x 6' x 8' with an arched ceiling and an iron gate door. During times of overcrowding, two inmates shared this tiny space.

In the early days, the temperature of the cells was about 10 degrees warmer than outside. The heating was improved later when water heaters were added.

The inmates were convicted of offenses ranging from stealing to manslaughter. No capitol offenders were sent here, so there were no executions here. The hardened killers were sent to a prison facility in Cheyenne to serve hard time and meet their fate.  It is in this Cheyenne prison that the infamous Julian Gallows was first used.

Wyoming Territorial Prison cost the government a $1.00 a day for the upkeep and education of each inmate, which was considered a very high cost. Because it was cheaper to send inmates to Joliet Prison, and to other out of state prisons, this territorial prison remained small.

When inspected in 1884 by Federal authorities, there were only 10 inmates, so plans were made to expand the prison, or else they would've closed the place. In 1889, the small prison was expanded, doubling its size by adding more cells, a new dining room, chapel/activity room and another wing, called the south wing. The newer cells were smaller, but had plastered walls and were finished with paint. On the second floor of the South Wing, the 12 women inmates were housed; two cells were set up as living quarters, and the third cell was their bathroom.  They were locked up 24/7, probably because it was safer for them. The first floor of the South Wing held 42 cells, on three tiers.

Though there was now more room for more inmates, they didn't hire enough guards at first, which led to a high number of escape attempts.

It wasn't long before this Wyoming Territorial Prison was over-crowded again. Plans were made to make a much bigger prison in Rawlins, where hardened killers and inmates convicted on lesser criminal acts could be kept all under one roof, consolidating prisons for better price control. Uh oh! They weren't thinking clearly.

In 1903, When the new prison in Rawlins was opened, Wyoming Territorial Prison in Laramie was converted to the Agricultural Experiment Station.  For 60 years, it was a big stock farm which was under the direction of Bert C. Buffin, and under the control of The University of Wyoming in Laramie.  For 60 years,  this farm educated and gave practical experience to the students, learning both new and established ways to run a farm.

In 1989, the land of the farm and the prison itself was bought and restored, becoming a state park and museum, after a lot of work and fund-raising.

Tom and I visited and took the tour. This do-it-yourself tour is a fascinating experience. One sees furnished cells, dining area, guard' s quarters, infirmary, women's quarters, laundry room, & warden' s office, plus many interesting exhibits, including one on Butch Cassidy, and stories of the other various inmates, male and female. Besides exhibits in the prison buildings, there are also exhibits in some of the farm buildings and barn. There is also a frontier town on the property which will be selling items from the 1800s in the near future.

DESCRIPTION OF PRISON LIFE

Discipline was strict.  High goals of behavior were expected of the inmates, which in turn boosted their self-esteem, and hopefully evolved their thinking; that they could go straight with the skills they had learned. Prisoners were to wash once  or twice a week, do their own laundry, make their own clothing, cook, keep the place clean, and learn a useful skill to rely on when they were released. Butch Cassidy, as a young man, spent a couple of years here for stealing with a gang.  The rehabilitation offered didn't work in his case, as he returned to his life of crime.

Because of the smaller population, the more stable character of its inmates and the more enlightened though strict policies of this prison, the violence was minimal, and difficult inmates were few and far between.  There were only two isolation cells for the unruly. No inmate was killed because of rough treatment from the guards, other inmates, or poor care. 

Even during the period when there were many escape attempts because of a lack of guard personnel in the early 1890s, only one inmate was killed. In this one exception, it was an escape attempt led by one ring leader and 6 others, in 1893. Only the ring leader of this escape attempt was shot dead by a guard.

Doctors were on contract to take care of the sick inmates. Terminally ill patients, even if they were "lifers," were always pardoned and sent home to be with their families and die there. The state didn't want to pay for the burial costs.

There was only one other man who died in prison, suddenly from a heart attack. Despite the best efforts of the doctors, Julius Greenwelch died of a sudden heart problem.

HISTORY OF MANIFESTATIONS:

Julius Greenwelch died suddenly without seeing his dream of a successful cigar business come true.

In the 1890s, Julius Greenwelch was a energetic cigar maker from Provo, Utah, who traveled around  Wyoming selling his fine cigars, as the Mormons in Utah frowned on smoking. People in Evanston, Laramie, Cheyenne and Sheridan loved his high quality cigars, providing a healthy market for his tobacco-laced wares.  Even before he was married to his beloved wife, Jennie, he was a good customer of his favorite bordello in Evanston, Wyoming, which he always visited on his way back to Provo. Some say that he met his Jennie there. This practice of visiting this pleasure palace continued, despite his marital vows.

On one fateful occasion, in 1897, his sales trip in Wyoming ended early, and he headed to his favorite sexual service center in Evanston. Upon arriving, he was shocked to see his wife, Jennie, who had started working in the bordello to perhaps earn some spending money, and probably to stick it to her husband for his infidelity.

Julius over-reacted and shot Jennie dead on the spot.  This fit of temper earned him a second degree murder conviction and a life-time stay at The Wyoming Territorial Prison for killing his wife. He was put in the north wing, in a third tier cell. He began his sentence on September 29th, 1997.

However, being incarcerated didn't squelch his entrepreneurial spirit.  He was able to talk the prison officials into letting him set up a cigar making operation in the prison, to bring in some money for the prison funds. However, after only being in stir a couple of years, he died of a heart attack, before his venture was a booming success, fulfilling his market plan.

In 1989, major renovation and restoration work was done on the prison. Some of the cells were removed to make room for doorways and historical exhibits. His cell was removed to make room for a door way.

It is thought that the noisy process of renovation and restoration of the prison and the removal of his cell "awakened" the spirit of Julius Greenwelch, who still wants to make cigars for profit in prison.

MANIFESTATIONS:

The  benign entity of Julius Greenwelch makes himself known to the living:

The smell of cigar smoke sometimes whiffs throughout the north wing.

Workmen around the buildings, who are making a lot of noise hammering, sawing and drilling while doing their restoration and fix it projects, sometimes find that their hammers, drills, and saws are missing, often finding them in odd places.

On occasion, he gets some chuckles at the expense of the living:

He appears in the doorway where his cell was in front of small groups of tourists or staff.

He also appears in front of people who are trying to sleep. No napping on the job allowed - You should be making cigars!

STILL HAUNTED?

Yes indeed!

The entity of Julius Greenwelch died before he had accomplished his new goal of having a successful cigar factory.  He gets his chuckles by letting tourists, staff and workmen know that he is still there, serving his time even in his after-life, perhaps still planning his cigar venture behind bars.