The Yuma Territorial Prison has many particular traits that people who are interested in Yuma’s history should be informed about. The reason for this is because it has been around for many years, so there is a large amount of history involving it. Many events happened during the time that the prison was open, from 1875 to 1909, there were many changes made within the walls of the prison. The changes made were not just the appearance but also the rules and regulations. Throughout the years the Yuma Territorial Prison has been used for many different reasons such as a; prison for criminals, school for students, shelter for the homeless, and now a museum for people curious about our towns history. The prison was, and still is, a historically important
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When prisoners died they were buried in the prison cemetery, which is located across from the prison. Of the 111 deaths only 104 of the bodies were buried in the cemetery, the other seven were claimed by the families. Only one body was never buried or given to the family, it was the one-hundred and twelfth death that happened on the way to Yuma. The prisoner tried to escape by jumping off the train but hit his head on a rock on the way down. That was the first and only death to be taken place outside of the prison. No executions ever took place, and only eight died from gunshot wounds. The gunshots to kill the prisoners took place when they would attempt to get out and try to escape so the guards would have to shoot. The most common cause of death was tuberculosis, which was a bacterial …show more content…
However, not many people truly know how much has happened inside of the prison. As gone over in the previous paragraphs, the Yuma Territorial Prison has many traits that many should know about. It has been around for many years, so there is an abundance of history involving it. Many events happened during the time that the prison was open, from 1875 to 1909, there were many changes made within the walls of the prison. Throughout the years the Yuma Territorial Prison has been used for many different reasons. It is important to know this because having the prison here has affected Yuma in so many ways. Not only that but it has also brought so much history into our town, history that people should be informed
When prisoners died they were buried in the prison cemetery, which is located across from the prison. Of the 111 deaths only 104 of the bodies were buried in the cemetery, the other seven were claimed by the families. Only one body was never buried or given to the family, it was the one-hundred and twelfth death that happened on the way to Yuma. The prisoner tried to escape by jumping off the train but hit his head on a rock on the way down. That was the first and only death to be taken place outside of the prison. No executions ever took place, and only eight died from gunshot wounds. The gunshots to kill the prisoners took place when they would attempt to get out and try to escape so the guards would have to shoot. The most common cause of death was tuberculosis, which was a bacterial …show more content…
However, not many people truly know how much has happened inside of the prison. As gone over in the previous paragraphs, the Yuma Territorial Prison has many traits that many should know about. It has been around for many years, so there is an abundance of history involving it. Many events happened during the time that the prison was open, from 1875 to 1909, there were many changes made within the walls of the prison. Throughout the years the Yuma Territorial Prison has been used for many different reasons. It is important to know this because having the prison here has affected Yuma in so many ways. Not only that but it has also brought so much history into our town, history that people should be informed