Travel Secrets by V

Referred to as “Old Pen” the haunting Wyoming Frontier Prison caged 13,500 inmates in all, including eleven women. The most notable woman inmate was Annie Bruce who at the age of sixteen, poisoned her fathers plum pie with strychnine. Out of these inmates, fourteen were executed here. Nine were hung in Jullian Gallows and the other five died in the gas chamber. However two hundred people died here in all.

Bad conditions

The conditions at the Wyoming Frontier Prison were far from ideal. Since the original cells didn’t have any electricity, heating or cooling system. As a result some people died from freezing to death. Hot water and heating was only added three years before Frontier Prison closed. Since riots were a regular occurrence at the prison, the guards had some pretty harsh disciplinary measures that were used against the prisoners. These measures probably caused some of the deaths too. They included a dungeon, solitary confinement, and a punishment pole. Men were handcuffed to the pole and then they were beaten with rubber hoses.

Too many prisoners

Overcrowding was always an issue at the prison. When it was originally built in 1901, cell block A consisted of one hundred and four cells. Three years later, cell block B was built and it added thirty two more cells. By 1916 a death house was added with 6 death row cells and an indoor Julien Gallows. Interestingly enough, the tour at the Frontier Prison starts off with a demonstration of a Julien Gallows in action. Hearing the water drip and knowing that your life is about to come to an end soon must have been a pretty horrible way to go. Just get it over with already. Then in 1936 the Julien Gallows was replaced with a gas chamber. Lastly, Cell Block C was added in 1966 which included 36 cells for serious discipline cases. The prison operated until 1981.

What are Julien Gallows?

Created by James P. Julien, the Julien Gallows are water powered gallows. A trap door is connected to a lever which pulls the plug out of a barrel of water. This will cause a lever with a counterweight to rise. Eventually pulling the support beam out from under the gallows and opening the trap to hang the condemned man.

Viggo Mortesen film

Those who watch B-rated movies may recognize this place from the 1987 Viggo Mortensen film “Prison” which was filmed at this location. When the crew came to film the movie, they thought that the prison was not creepy enough for the film so they added special effects to create a spookier atmosphere. Only problem with that is they were never removed the additions and caused damage to the property. Consequently these add on are now part of the main attraction.

The Prison Factory

Between 1901-1917, the prison operated a broom factory but the inmates burned it down during a riot. It was rebuilt as a shirt factory. But in 1934 a law was passed prohibiting the sale and transportation of prison goods out of state. The prison was now limited to selling shirts in Wyoming, which resulted in a tremendous loss of revenue. So in 1935 it reopened as a woolen mill. The prison supplied military with blankets during WWII. When the war ended, the blankets were no longer necessary so in 1949 the prison began producing license plates. Which it did until it closed in 1981. On top of all this, the inmates created some really interesting art, like the masks pictured below.

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