Don't be like us - we thought 3 hours would be plenty of time to see the inside of an abandoned prison. WRONG for two reasons: (1) there are many other buildings besides the actual prison, and some have stuff to see inside; (2) there is a lot of history - especially outlaw history, duh - presented by many poster-sized photos of inmates with their individual stories, plus maps and some historic items. Oh yeah, there's also a guided tour you can take; I recommend it. And finally, there's a gift shop; my wife bought a book of old WANTED posters and has really been enjoying the colorful way outlaws used to be described! Pro Tip: bug spray. Mosquitos made us miserable until we used it. read more

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If you are in Laramie and have a 1 1/2 to 2 hours I would highly recommend visiting. It's unique, very well laid out, interesting and informative. The staff was very friendly and happy to answer questions and share information. For $9 we felt a bit guilty and had to kick some more in the donation jar on the way out. read more

Located just a few miles outside of Laramie... is well worth a visit. There's memorabilia from Butch Cassidy, but my favorite part is the school yard and the prison cells- just seeing how life was back then. Our tour guide mentioned something briefly about certain cells being haunted, but we were quickly ushered on to the next room. It just adds to the air of mystery of the place (you can feel it as soon as you step onto the grounds) Prices are reasonable and the hours are very open. May have to make a second visit just to see everything. You can tell all your friends when you return about the time you spent in prison... read more

Wyoming Territorial Prison - Museums Near Me - Laramie, Wyoming

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Super cool place! Not sure if it was because of covid, but it was a self guided tour. I actually really enjoy self guided though. The place is very well kept and the guides who you see in the beginning of the tours are really sweet and knowledgeable. The wardens house was very neat as well. It actually seems pretty big for the time period! I didn't get to ask why it was only open for 30 years.... Thank you Renee for answering my question! read more

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Just a really neat place to learn the history of the area. I think it's great to preserve things like that. The person running the gift shop today was particularly good and very knowledgeable. You can tell she was very interested in passing that knowledge along to anybody who came through the door. Just a really fun place to go. read more

Very interesting stop for the whole family. We spent about an hour and a half there. The adults would have been happy to spend longer, but the kids wanted lunch and the prison didn't have food (only snacks for sale in the gift shop). This is a good stop for kids who are at least elementary school aged or older. I don't think younger children would understand. When you enter, they give you a fact card about one of the prisoners who had been incarcerated there. It was interesting to learn about the background of the prisoners and what happened to them after they left the prison. This exhibit is very well done and well worth the entrance fees - $5/adult, $2.50/child 12-17, 11 and under free. The tour is self guided, but they do have a guided tour on weekends that is optional. read more

Interesting place and worth checking-out the Butch Cassidy exhibit. Definitely a good place to stretch your legs. Right off I-80.

If you are living, or visiting, in the area, I would definitely check out this attraction. If a fan of the wild west, interested in the history of the area, or just looking for something educational or different to do, this is a unique experience. In my case, I had recently been on a tour of the Alcatraz prison in San Francisco, CA, which has an audio tour, beautiful views of the City from the island, a nice trip over the water via ferry, etc., so this Laramie, WY tour would rate more of a 3 star rating, in comparison to a 5 star Alcatraz tour. We also drove about 3 hours each way to see the Laramie prison, which I found excessive, but it had been highly recommended by a friend to go see, so we gave it a try. It does have a lot of historical information, which was very interesting. However, the information was all via reading numerous wall plaques, some of which was repetitive, and if you are one who tends to read every word, rather than skimming, it can feel a bit stressful trying to read through everything in an alotted amount of time. We arrived in the late afternoon, and found it started to get dark, and they were turning off some of the lights during the last hour of being open, making it difficult to see and read everything, so if you plan to go, try to get there earlier, with plenty of time to be able to leisurely go through the exhibits, and if you need reading glasses, bring them. I think kids and teens would enjoy this tour, but if your kids are young, know that you are going to have to read the information out loud to them. There is a room dedicated to Butch Cassidy who was at this prison for a short time on a minor charge, and there are separate buildings that show some of the chores they did, such as making brooms. There is some interesting history on their way of life at that time (anti-big business; a Robin Hood philosophy), what penitentiaries were originally set up to accomplish (reflection and becoming "penitent" and reformed), and some history of the women that were also held in this prison. If staying within an hour of this site, I'd give it closer to a 4.5 star, although I would prefer a guided tour, or an audio tour, as there is a lot of information to absorb. read more

Wyoming Territorial Prison - View from the interior guard tower - Museums Near Me - Laramie, Wyoming

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Poor customer service does not even begin to describe the staff. If you want to see this place I strongly recommend you go first thing so the staff who sells tickets does not need to do their job. read more

I'll admit that I first visited here after seeing a billboard on I-80 with Butch Cassidy's mugshot. As a fan of the 1969 film starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, I figured this would be a fun excursion. There's a great display about Butch and the Wild Bunch, but there's also so much more. When you enter, the guide gives you a piece of paper with the mugshot and some background on one of the inmates, encouraging you to find them in the prison. Opposite the cells are enlargements of the mugshots corresponding to these pieces of paper with information about the inmate, their background, their crime, and what's known about their life following release. The museum also discusses theories of prison reform, including the Auburn system, with information about how various territorial governors and wardens attempted to implement it. For me, the highlight was the broom-making tools in the Prison Industries Building. At my summer job, I make brooms for a different museum and it was interesting to see what equipment the Wyoming Territorial Prison was using and how they were different, being about 40 years after the tools I use. For those unfamiliar with broom construction, there's a helpful video explaining how this equipment works. Outside of the prison walls is a mock-up of a frontier town. It was closed on the day I visited, but I still enjoyed peeking in the windows. The 1910 Horse Barn explains how the property was later used by the University of Wyoming as an Experimental Station for livestock. Various displays demonstrate different aspects of livestock care, including horse shoeing and the equipage for using draft animals. A printing press is also on display for those interested in the history of movable type. I took a self-guided tour and spent about two hours going through the site. Plan to take your time and allow yourself to experience what this historic site has to offer. read more

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The name of this place sounds like a prison, it used to be, but not anymore. Luckily they decided to turn it in to a museum, and did a pretty good job at it! There's a lot to see and learn from this place. From past significant people to anything really. I would recommend this place any day! read more

Make a point to stop here. Aside from there not being a ton of things to do in southeast Wyoming, this is worth the $5 tour fee. Seeing the renovated prison and all the pictures on the wall with prisoner details was informative and eye pleasing. The cold cement gives you an eerie feeling of time lost in there. The Butch Cassidy room was a little too wordy for my taste, but gave insight into which I didn't know of him and his gang. The volunteers are pleasant and helpful with what to see on site and elsewhere. read more

Wyoming Territorial Prison - Museums Near Me - Laramie, Wyoming

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Wish our family had visited sooner! I expected to see a facility in 100+yo condition. Nope. This excellent historical site has been completely restored to its original state. Expect to see the cells, guard and warden living areas/house, bathing and kitchen facilities, broom making factory (still in operation) and informative bios of a variety of prisoners, including Butch Cassidy. Every aspect of prison life is depicted. You will definitely learn a lot about prison life at turn of the 20th century. A Wyoming gem!! read more

Pretty interesting to see the history behind this place. They've obviously done a ton of work to it to keep it in standing order. I've never visited a jail or prison before, new or old, so I don't really have anything to compare it to. You can easily spend several hours here, and, suprisingly, it was pretty busy. Lots of photo opps. Really hot, though. read more

WOW, a super great site! We were first here on a road trip in 2008 and I think they have done some major renovations and additions, which all look fabulous. read more

Fun Prison Museum Tells its story Of the wild west through its prisoners. read more

I stopped at this museum as I read signs encouraging me to exit. What is a roadtrip without doing kooky things. This place seems small but it is really a big exhibit. It features David Cassidy and his gang of thieves. I had never had about him before but I have feeling it is definitely something that I should have been aware of. I blame my parents for that, I missed a whole era of american culture because they are mexican, I digress. I did find the exhbibit quite interesting and spent a whole hour touring the grounds. I would recommend this place if you want something to do and to stretch your legs all the while enjoying a piece of history. read more

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This was a cool stop. It's designed to be self-guided (my preference), and there's plenty of good info along the way. Reading the biographies of the inmates, then their dispensation of justice, is fascinating. read more

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I am an old west history buff, and was looking forward to visiting this Old West Prison museum. However, there is not much to see, and it was really boring. I think that the State of Wyoming could do a lot better. Most of the actual prison is fake bars decorating the walls. I can't recommend it. read more

Absolutely great time at the building, awesome walking through a place where there is so much history and so much to learn. Had a great time read more

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We had fun exploring this old prison. The Butch Cassidy exhibit was particularly interesting. You can get locked in a cell if you want. Self-guided tour, $5 adult admission, gift shop, lots of photo opportunities for kids, plenty of parking. read more

We wandered around on our own, as there was a tour going on already. There's a lot of really neat stuff, and when we caught up with the tour, there were so many stories we heard that we kinda regretted not joining it sooner! Really cool place! They do haunted tours too, I'd definitely recommend that for a date night! read more

Had a great time visiting with our family. The tour guide was knowledgeable and the exhibits were interesting.

Stopped to give our young kids a chance to stretch their legs on a long road trip. We found a lot more than we expected. The kids were worried about the "bad guys" when we said we were going to a prison. But they enjoyed seeing the horse barn and how brooms were made. My husband probably could have spent a few more hours there, but we had to get back on the road. Only complaint is we wished there would have been some ice cream in the gift shop, but we are giving it 5 stars anyway! :-) read more

Great historical place. Love the mug shots and bios of former prisoners up on the walls. All of our family who has come in to visit us has enjoyed the prison as well. I'm surprised the prison is not better advertised or publicized because we had lived in Wyoming for two years before we heard of this place. read more