"THe Hell Hole Of The West"

  In its day, the Old Yuma Prison was known as "The Hell Hole of the West" by many people. This stereotype was reinforced by Westerns after television became popular. It was also enforced by the many dime novels that came out at the time. However, people who lived in Yuma during the 33 years that it was open, had a different view of the prison that looked down menacingly over the sunbaked, adobe town below Prison Hill. The residents of Yuma actually made alot of comments and allegations that prisoners were being coddled. 
  Compared to prisons of today, the Old Yuma Prison was barbaric and cruel, but, for its time, it was actually modern and progressive. For example, one of the first electric generating plants in the West was installed at the prison. This plant ran lights and provided ventilation for the complex. The prisoners actually slept cooler at nights than the local residents because of the ventilation system. This was significant in the scorching summer months that this area has always been known for. The prison also had a library, a rarity for the day. Townspeople would pay a fee to use the library at the prison and this money was used to purchase books for the library.  
  There are some stories that, during the night, prison guards would throw snakes into cells while prisoners were sleeping or would put bugs into prison uniforms that had been freshly laundered. Some of these stories may well be true because that sort of thing did happen at prisons back in the day and, even though Yuma was a modern and progressive prison for its time, I am sure these things still happened on occasion because many of the prison guards were cruel. Also, some of these offenses may have been perpetrated by other prisoners and not necessarily guards.
  In the 33 years the Yuma Prison was open(1876-1909), it housed 3,069 prisoners. Among the people incarcerated here, 29 of them were women, including one of the most notorious female outlaws, Pearl Hart. The last prisoner left on September 15,1909 and was transferred to the then brand new Florence Prison, which today  is the largest of Arizona's state prisons.
  When the last prisoner left Old Yuma Prison, Arizona was still a territory. Statehood was not gained until February 14, 1912.