Cripple Creek, Jail Museum

As you can see, the population of Cripple Creek grew from 15 people to more than 50,000 just in a few months. And a lot of them were adventure seekers, gold diggers or just people that were ready for everything if they could feel the smell of money. And... also... they drunk! So, work, pub, gambling, ill-repute house and "next stop is jail" ;)

 

Right, the jail was a necessity and important institution for this town (actually, for almost every town in the West). So the current jail was built in 1901, but I guess there was another place to keep outlaws before this time too. Anyway, the jail rarely was empty and among regular drunk fighters and hooligans it was occupied by seasoned and famous mobsters too. Also, some gold camp disputes were resolved with the use of weapons and that wasn't exactly legal. Now you can read the stories on the jail walls and see the pictures of the people. 

Jealousy over a woman, anger over stolen watch, workspace hatred boiled up... there are only a few reasons for murder in the gold camp. Murders were regular occurrences, and murders who were caught spent time here before they were taken to jail in Colorado Springs. Robbers and burglars also were the guests here. The jail, actually, was in service until 1991, when it was closed as inhumane...  Hm... interesting, I thought the jail is inhumane by nature and supposed to be this way... but... probably some inhumanity is worse than other inhumanity...

Let's walk around the cells and see how they look from the guards point of view...

There is not really much more we can tell about this place. It is a jail.. Two stories metal structures, kept inside brick walls. Small cells, not much fresh air and light. I guess sitting there was really boring and some of the inmates found amusement drawing on the walls. One of the cells still keeps these pencil drawings, the guy who occupied it in the 1980s drew the bricks, a fireplace, a poem in the frame, a sleeping dog, a chair, a microwave, a window and some more pictures... This cell looks almost like a luxury suite, but most of the others are just plain and boring. But it is a part of the history of the place...

You know, what about a short tour to see the jail?

There was another section of the cells just above the entrance. The women were held here. Just a little bit separate from the men's company.

Here is the visiting room. Inmates could spend some time here when the wives came to visit them.

And another tour. To the second floor...

The pictures were taken on February 16, 2020.