History of the Wyoming State Penitentiary

Wyoming Territorial Penitentiary

When Wyoming was established as a territory, Wyoming's first major penal institution was the Territorial Penitentiary, located on a portion of the abandoned Fort Sanders Military Reservation now the city of Laramie. The federal government built this facility in the fall of 1873 and received its first prisoner in December of that year. Today, the Wyoming Territorial Prison is operated as a museum and is part of the Wyoming Territorial Park historic site. http://wyoparks.state.wy.us/Site/SiteInfo.asp?siteID=25

Original Wyoming State Penitentiary

Looking toward eventual statehood, the Territorial Legislature in 1888 made provisions for some significant changes in its penal institution. While the Territorial Penitentiary was kept in operation, the legislature established the Penitentiary Building Commission, charged with site selection, procurement or architectural services and other preparations for a major penal institution near Rawlins. The National Territorial Building Act of 1888 authorized such a new territorial facility, at a cost not to exceed $100,000. Statehood came to Wyoming on July 10, 1890. The Wyoming State Constitution, Article 7, Section 18, and related statutes, established the Wyoming State Penitentiary and defined its functions. Article 7, Section 18 states that, "Such charitable, reformatory and penal institutions as the claims of humanity and the public good may require, shall be established and supported by the state in such manner as the legislature may prescribe. They shall be supervised as prescribed by law." In Article 7, Section 23, the Constitution states that "A penitentiary shall be located at or near the City of Rawlins, in the County of Carbon. The legislature may provide by law the location of other public institutions, including correctional facilities." The original Wyoming State Penitentiary was opened in 1901 and operated until 1981. Called the Wyoming Frontier Prison, it is now open for tours and is operated by the Friends of the Old Pen, Inc.

1980 "North Facility" Wyoming State Penitentiary

Now Vacated

• In 1980 the "new" Wyoming State Penitentiary was opened with the first inmates placed in "C" Block. The original housing capacity was 550 inmates. From that date through 1995 additional beds were added so that the total capacity was approximately 825. It was eventually determined that the safe housing capacity was 780 inmates.
• In 1983 the West Tower was constructed and put into operation. In 1984 the East Tower was added to the perimeter security of the facility.
• In 1995 the Intensive Treatment Unit for long term substance abuse, was opened.
• During October 1998, the U.S. Department of Justice made the first of several site inspections under CRIPA (Civil Rights of Incarcerated Persons Act). When the DOJ issued their findings letter in Summer 1999, then State Attorney General Gay Woodhouse said that the factual information contained no surprises and that it documented issues that the department was working on before the DOJ visited the penitentiary. She added, however, that "while we disagree that any of the issues singly or together rise to the level of violating constitutional rights, we do agree with many of the recommendations in the letter. We will continue to work in cooperation with the Department of Justice to see that those recommendations are resolved."
• When the High Security Special Needs (HSSN) facility at the Wyoming State Penitentiary opened in Summer 2001, the 1980 facility came to be called the "North Facility," and the HSSN facility became the "South Facility."
• At the time that the Wyoming Department of Corrections took possession of the new South Facility in Summer 2001 the department vacated the North Facility due to continuing life/safety issues that could not be immediately resolved. Inmates that would have been housed in the North Facility were moved to other WDOC facilities, to county jails, or to housing out-of-state.
• In April 2002 the WDOC announced that the DOJ and the department had entered into a final agreement regarding the Wyoming State Penitentiary. It was noted that the State had one year to obtain substantial compliance with the terms of the agreement and one year to maintain compliance.

 

2001 South Facility, Administration and Warehouse Buildings, Central Production Facility

When the High Security/Special Needs Facility (South Facility) was planned, a new warehouse and administration building were also planned. Both the warehouse and the administration building were designed to service the entire complex. These two buildings were occupied in March 2000.

The South Facility opened in July 2001 to house inmates that needed high security or had special medical or mental health needs. It has a capacity of 648 inmates. Due to the vacating of the North Facility, the South Facility currently also houses medium and minimum security inmates.

In August 2002 the new Central Production Facility opened (kitchen and laundry facility) and the original kitchen/laundry facility was closed in the North Facility. This brought an end to any occupancy of the North Facility.

 

Wardens of the Wyoming State Penitentiary

DATES SERVED	WARDEN
February 3, 1900 – December 26, 1900	T. Jeff Carr (temporary warden)
January 2, 1901 – July 24, 1901	W.R. Adams
July 24, 1901 – November 15, 1907	J.P. Hehn
November 15, 1907 – September 7, 1909	Fred Hillenbrand
October 5, 1909 – May 3, 1910	George W. Lewis
May 17, 1910 – April 17, 1911	C.B. Glunz
April 17, 1911 – March 1, 1919	Felix Alston
March 1, 1919 – May 5, 1919	C.L. Martin
June 2, 1919 – April 5, 1920	W.H. (Captain) Brine, Acting Warden
May 27, 1920 – October 19, 1927	Frank A. Hadsell
October 24, 1927 – January 2, 1935	Alonzo S. Roach
February 4, 1935 – June 10, 1939	Alex McPherson
June 13, 1939 – March 15, 1945	A. S. Roach
March 15, 1945 – January 2, 1946	Alex McPherson
February 5, 1946 – April 9, 1947	William Evers
April 9, 1947 – June 1, 1953	W.C. "Babe" Miller
June 1, 1953 – May 15, 1959	Deane M. Miller
May 15, 1959 – April 15, 1963	Ivan R. Daugherty
April 16, 1963 – November 1977	Lenard F. Meacham
November 1977 – March 1978	Duane Shillinger, Acting Warden
March 1978 – July 1979	Herbert Maschner
July 1979 – June 10, 1995	Duane Shillinger
June 10, 1995 – July 8, 1997	James (Jim) Ferguson
July 8, 1997 – December 16, 1997	DOC Management Team (Bruce Daniels, Vance Everett, Gary Starbuck)
December 17, 1997 – July 26, 2002	Vance Everett
July 27, 2002 – July 31, 2003	Scott Abbott, Acting Warden
August 1, 2003 - August 31, 2006	Scott Abbott
September 1, 2006 - March 31, 2009	Michael Murphy
April 1, 2009 - present	Eddie Wilson