Denver Public Library Western History/Genealogy Digital Collections

- Penitentiary, Canon City, Colorado
- View of Colorado State Penitentiary, in Canon City (Fremont County) Colorado; also shows the City Ditch, houses, and prison construction.
- Canon City (Colo.)--1860-1880.; Prisons--Colorado--Canon City--1860-1880.; Colorado State Penitentiary.--1860-1880.
- [between 1869 and 1879]
- Roy Best, Warden of State Penitentiary at Canon City, Colorado, and unidentified group
- Responding to the 1947 break from the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, men and a woman pose in winter clothes with rifles, gloves and a baseball cap. Uniformed guards have ammunition belts, Warden Best wears a cowboy hat, and Orville Cox...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1940-1950.; Prison escapes--Colorado--Canon City--1940-1950.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1948
- Colorado Penitentiary break of 1947 Joe Colgan
- Joe Colgan aims the hand-built shotgun used in the 1947 escape from the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado. He wears a jacket, plaid muffler, guard cap, spectacles, and has a cigarette in his mouth. Framed pictures and drapes are on the...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1940-1950.; Firearms--Colorado--Canon City--1940-1950.; Prison escapes--Colorado--Canon City--1940-1950.; Colgan, Joseph.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1948
- Old gray mare
- Bent over a wooden, upholstered frame, a prisoner at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, wears patched, horizontally striped prison pants. His ankles are shackled, and a man in a vest, gold chain and cowboy hat swings a hinged paddle,...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1890-1900.; Beating--Colorado--Canon City--1890-1900.; Prisoners--Colorado--Canon City--1890-1900.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1890?
- Old Gray Mare
- A Colorado State Penitentiary guard in uniform looks on as a man bends over the "Old Gray Mare," a device used in Canon City, Fremont County, Colorado, at the prison, for disciplinary beatings. Rolled United States flags are on an interior shelf.
- Colorado State Penitentiary--1920-1930.; Canon City (Colo.)--1920-1930.; Beating--Colorado--Canon City--1890-1900.; Prisoners--Colorado--Canon City--1890-1900.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- [between 1920 and 1930?]
- Sandstone water wagon
- Black inmates at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, wear pinstriped golf hats and numbered shirts. They pose with a two-wheeled wagon carrying a 55 gallon drum on its side. A spigot and pipe with holes emits streams of water....
- Canon City (Colo.)--1930-1940.; African Americans--Colorado--Canon City--1930-1940.; Carts & wagons--Colorado--Canon City--1930-1940.; Prisoners--Colorado--Canon City--1930-1940.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1936
- First penitentiary opened June 13, 1871
- The Colorado State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, is a three-story stone structure with a mansard roof, dormers, and chimneys. Frame, saltbox outbuildings adjoin, with stovepipes, an awning, and piled firewood. Others are in the area, and a...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1870-1880.; Prisons--Colorado--Canon City--1870-1880.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- [between 1872 and 1873?]
- Ambulance at prison riot
- Parked outside the stone, barred, West Gate at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, this four-door hardtop 1920's sedan has signs with crosses in the front and side windows reading: "Ambulance." The keystone in the arched gate reads:...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1920-1930.; Ambulances--Colorado--Canon City--1920-1930.; Prisons--Colorado--Canon City--1920-1930.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1929
- Cell block on fire during riot
- Flames engulf a cell block at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado. Barred windows show the fire inside, and at the second story roof line, more flame emerges from the building. A power pole, lines, and a swamp cooler front the structure....
- Canon City (Colo.)--1920-1930.; Fires--Colorado--Canon City--1920-1930.; Prison riots--Colorado--Canon City--1920-1930.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1929
- Cell block fire damage from riot
- Interior two-story walls of a cell block at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado have remnants of plaster on the exposed stone. The brick gable and bars in the arched windows are intact; the roof is gone. Smoking debris clutters the...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1920-1930.; Fires--Colorado--Canon City--1920-1930.; Prison riots--Colorado--Canon City--1920-1930.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1929
- Cell block interior after riot
- Metal balconies and railings front prison cells at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado. Doors are open; fire damage consists of debris and holes in the roof.
- Canon City (Colo.)--1920-1930.; Fires--Colorado--Canon City--1920-1930.; Prison riots--Colorado--Canon City--1920-1930.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1929
- Administration building after riot
- Smoke marks top the stone arched, barred windows of the administration building at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado. The blind arch in the gable of the two-story structure has the date: 1882, and is flanked by cast flourishes. An...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1920-1930.; Fires--Colorado--Canon City--1920-1930.; Prison riots--Colorado--Canon City--1920-1930.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1929
- Aerial view of penitentiary after riot
- Fire gutted structures at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, include the administration building, its flanking cell blocks, and the license plate shop. The City Ditch winds through the prison complex, and prisoners mill in the sunken...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1920-1930.; Fires--Colorado--Canon City--1920-1930.; Prison riots--Colorado--Canon City--1920-1930.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1929
- Prison hospital
- Black and white convicts lie in cots in the hospital at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado. The walls are partly tiled; electric lights and a steam radiator furnish the interior.
- Canon City (Colo.)--1910-1920.; Interiors.; Prison hospitals--Colorado--Canon City--1910-1920.; Prisoners--Colorado--Canon City--1910-1920.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1918
- Apple orchard maintained by the Colorado State Penitentiary
- Inmates at the State Penitentiary orchard in Canon City, Colorado, pose among crates and tables mounded with apples. They wear long sleeved shirts, suspenders and soft hats. Guards in suits and a variety of hats oversee; a horse drawn buggy (with...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1920-1930.; Apple orchards--Colorado--Canon City--1920-1930.; Prisoners--Colorado--Canon City--1920-1930.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- [between 1920 and 1930?]
- Old hog pens
- Rubble and foundations of hog pens at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, fill a flat, central area. Bluffs flank it, and a stone shed, faceted guard tower, and wall are at the far end. Power poles and lines follow one side. A man...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1930-1940.; Prisons--Colorado--Canon City--1930-1940.; Swine--Colorado--Canon City--1930-1940.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1932
- Rock work at pen. ranch
- The gated arch at the State Penitentiary ranch in Canon City, Colorado, is made of random stone masonry. Curved walls and gable topped pillars flank the dirt road, and stone lined ditches are to the side. More stone walls and the stucco dairy...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1930-1940.; Prisons--Colorado--Canon City--1930-1940.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1935
- Warden A. Rudd
- Bearded Warden A. Rudd at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, poses in a suit and tie and wears a beard.
- Prison wardens--Colorado--Canon City--1870-1880.; Canon City (Colo.)--1870-1880.; Rudd, A.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1874
- Women's sewing
- Treadle sewing machines at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, are in a room with bare interior walls and empty curtain racks over barred windows. Spindle chairs and a wooden table have a cardboard box, fabric scraps, and paper on them;...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1890-1910.; Interiors.; Sewing machines--Colorado--Canon City--1890-1910.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- [between 1890 and 1910?]
- Visiting overseers at road camp
- Families of State Penitentiary road building crew overseers pose at the camp near Canon City, Colorado. Behind a group of children sitting on the ground, a line of women wear long dresses, jackets, and dress hats. Men wear suits or a sweater;...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1910-1920.; Women--Colorado--Canon City--1910-1920.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- [between 1915 and 1920?]
- Meal at road camp
- Men (one Black) at the State Penitentiary road building camp in Canon City, Colorado, sit around a plank table laden with enamelware and food. Some wear suits and ties; three stand in back against a wall. Two wear aprons, one wears a suit and a...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1910-1920.; Eating & drinking--Colorado--Canon City--1910-1920.; Prisoners--Colorado--Canon City--1910-1920.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1918
- Women's cell
- The interior of this cell at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, has a steamer trunk and an iron bed. A wooden dresser with a mirror and brass drawer pulls has items on it including portrait photographs, a brush and comb, books, keys, a...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1900-1910.; Cells--Colorado--Canon City--1900-1910.; Interiors.; Prisons--Colorado--Canon City--1900-1910.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1900
- Richard F. Heilman
- Heilman, recaptured after the 1947 escape from the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, has a rifle aimed at his blood spattered, half shaved head. His hand, wounded by gunshot, is wrapped in bloody rags; he sits holding it. The guard...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1940-1950.; Prison escapes--Colorado--Canon City--1940-1950.; Heilman, Richard F.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1948
- Canon City, Colorado early days
- Colorado State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, is a forty cell stone building with a Mansard roof and a frame outbuilding. The City Ditch winds past it, and the town lies beyond, followed by low hills.
- Canon City (Colo.)--1870-1880.; Prisons--Colorado--Canon City--1870-1880.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- [between 1870 and 1873?]
- Canon City about 1883
- Looking northeast at Canon City, Colorado, the State Penitentiary is a complex of two-story stone buildings with gable roofs and a surrounding wall with corner towers. Tents and piles of ties are next to tracks of the Denver and Rio Grande Western...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1880-1890.; Prisons--Colorado--Canon City--1880-1890.; Colorado State Penitentiary.; Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Company.
- 1883
- State Penitentiary convicts excavating for the Water Works
- Convicts of the State Penitentiary in Canon City Colorado, wear striped prison uniforms and pose with shovels. They stand behind a rock wall among wheelbarrows and boards. Men in suits oversee; a shed, trees, and hills are in the background.
- Canon City (Colo.)--1880-1890.; Prison laborers--Colorado--Canon City--1880-1890.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1880
- Warden Dueber of the penitentiary on his famous black horse, M. N. Megrue standing
- A. Dueber, lead guard at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, is astride a black horse with one white hoof. A man in a frock coat suit holds the reins, another is atop a random ashlar stone wall in the background. All wear cowboy hats. A...
- Prison wardens--Colorado--Canon City--1890-1900.; Canon City (Colo.)--1890-1900.; Megrue, M. N.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- [between 1890 and 1900?]
- Prison - Canon City, Colo
- The State Penitentiary complex in Canon City, Colorado, consists of several three-story stone buildings surrounded by matching walls with corner towers. The two-story Administration Building is built into the wall, and has arched windows, a cottage...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1880-1900.; Prisons--Colorado--Canon City--1880-1900.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- [between 1888 and 1892?]
- Canon City Composer's Club
- Men and women of the Composer's Club of Canon City, Colorado, pose wearing cravats, oversized buttons, puff shoulders, a variety of fabrics, feathers, pleats, ruffles and applique.
- Canon City (Colo.)--1890-1900.; Composers--Colorado--Canon City--1890-1900.
- 1897
- Riot aftermath
- Blood soaks the interior floor of cell house #3 at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado. Open, barred cell doors are topped by a bracketed, metal balcony. A lever on the wall is for locking the entire row. This is where the mutineers...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1920-1930.; Interiors.; Prison riots--Colorado--Canon City--1920-1930.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1929
- Pen riot National Guardsmen
- Wheel-mounted artillery from the National Guard firing range in Golden is on a flatbed truck at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado. It was used during the October 3 riot after dynamite failed to roust the ringleaders. Men stand on the...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1920-1930.; Artillery (Weaponry)--Colorado--Canon City--1920-1930.; Prison riots--Colorado--Canon City--1920-1930.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1929
- Female dept
- Black and white female convicts at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado sit among sewing machines; men in aprons oversee. Spools of thread are on armatures; electric light cords hang from the ceiling, and a regulator clock is on the...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1920-1940.; Interiors.; Prisoners--Colorado--Canon City--1930-1940.; Prisons--Colorado--Canon City--1930-1940.; Sewing machines--Colorado--Canon City--1930-1940.; Women--Colorado--Canon City--1930-1940.; Colorado State...
- [between 1925 and 1940?]
- Convicts in line
- Convicts at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, wear uniforms marked with wide, horizontal stripes. They stand in a line, each with his hands on the shoulders of the man in front of him. A uniformed guard in a double breasted jacket and...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1900-1910.; Prison uniforms--Colorado--Canon City--1900-1910.; Prisoners--Colorado--Canon City--1900-1910.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1900
- Inside prison looking north
- Stone buildings with extruded joints, metal roofs, and arched, barred windows flank the dirt street in the midway area of the State Penitentiary complex in Canon City, Colorado. Men in striped pants are by a guard house atop the cell block in the...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1880-1900.; Prisons--Colorado--Canon City--1880-1900.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- [between 1885 and 1895?]
- Prison festivities
- Soapboxes fill a horse-drawn wagon at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado; an inmate holds the reins. Lettering on the wagon reads: "Colorado State Prison." Men pose in western clothes and have paper tags hanging from their shirts; two...
- Horse-drawn vehicles--Colorado--Canon City--1920-1940.; Canon City (Colo.)--1920-1940.; Prisons--Colorado--Canon City--1920-1940.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- [between 1920 and 1940?]
- Penitentiary riot 1929
- This aerial view looking east at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, shows the prison complex with the Administration Building, its extensions, and the tag shop gutted by fire. Inmates are in the sunken yard fronting the damaged...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1920-1930.; Prisons--Colorado--Canon City--1920-1930.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1929
- Penitentiary riot 1929
- This aerial view looking north at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, shows the prison complex with the Administration Building, its extensions, and the tag shop gutted by fire. Inmates are in the sunken yard fronting the damaged...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1920-1930.; Prisons--Colorado--Canon City--1920-1930.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1929
- Prison festivities
- A horse-drawn, hand operated crane-wagon at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, carries a rock and inmates, including one in a striped uniform. A canopy on the wagon reads:"1876 Prison Products 1876." Men pose in western clothes and...
- Horse-drawn vehicles--Colorado--Canon City--1890-1900.; Canon City (Colo.)--1920-1940.; Prisoners--Colorado--Canon City--1890-1900.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- [between 1920 and 1940?]
- Punch press and shear tag plant
- Inmates in striped coveralls sit at stamp mills at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado. Electric lamps, conduits and switchboxes cover the interior concrete walls, and a guard in a white shirt and tie looks on. License plate blanks are...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1930-1940.; Interiors.; License plates--Colorado--Canon City--1930-1940.; Prison laborers--Colorado--Canon City--1930-1940.; Prisons--Colorado--Canon City--1930-1940.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1934
- Sylester Lee Garrison
- Men in suits and topcoats at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, surround a Black prisoner in civilian clothes. Ashtray and books are on the table in the foreground.
- Canon City (Colo.)--1960-1970.; Interiors.; Prisoners--Colorado--Canon City--1960-1970.; Prisons--Colorado--Canon City--1960-1970.; Gargario, John.; Garrison, Sylester Lee.; Hayes, George.; Ketchum, Logan.; Peters, Wendell.; Stratton, Robert.;...
- 1960
- Warden Wayne K. Patterson and Sylester Garrison
- Black prisoners look at the Warden of the State Penitentiary, Canon City, Colorado. The interior of the basement holding cell has bars, gates, metal doors, and a ceiling lamp.
- Prison wardens--Colorado--Canon City--1960-1970.; Canon City (Colo.)--1960-1970.; Interiors.; Prisoners--Colorado--Canon City--1960-1970.; Garrison, Sylester Lee.; Patterson, Wayne K.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1966
- James Sherbondy
- Career criminal "Mad Dog" Sherbondy reads a newspaper in his prison cell at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado. First convicted in 1937 of murdering a Sheriff, Sherbondy died in a shootout on the sidewalk in front of the Denver Post in...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1950-1960.; Interiors.; Prisoners--Colorado--Canon City--1950-1960.; Prisons--Colorado--Canon City--1950-1960.; Sherbondy, James.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1950
- Cell house #2
- The interior of cell house number two at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, has two floors of bracketed balconies, with open, barred doors; each has a number sign at the lock. Cables stretch up from the railings, and a man in a suit...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1900-1910.; Cells--Colorado--Canon City--1900-1910.; Interiors.; Prisons--Colorado--Canon City--1900-1910.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1900
- No. 1 building called female department
- Number one building, at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, made of rusticated stone has barred sash windows on all three floors. It has bracketed eaves, a downspout, and stone bannisters with finials at the entry. A power pole is in...
- Canon City (Colo.)--1900-1920.; Prisons--Colorado--Canon City--1900-1920.; Stone buildings--Colorado--Canon City--1900-1920.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- [between 1909 and 1920?]
- Anton Wood : 11 years old youngest prisoner
- Anton Wood, a.k.a. "Kid Wallace," inmate at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, poses in pinstriped shirt, suspenders, checked tie, and number card:"3199."
- Canon City (Colo.)--1870-1880.; Boys--Colorado--Canon City--1870-1880.; Prisoners--Colorado--Canon City--1870-1880.; Wood, Anton.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- [between 1870 and 1880?]
- Colorado State Penitentiary convicts at work on the foundation of the new cellhouse
- Construction at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, consists of workmen, a hole in the ground, lumber, a shed and a tent. Stone prison walls, cell blocks and a guard tower are in the background; a wheelbarrow is in the foreground.
- Canon City (Colo.)--1930-1940.; Construction--Colorado--Canon City--1930-1940.; Prison laborers--Colorado--Canon City--1930-1940.; Prisons--Colorado--Canon City--1930-1940.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- 1930
- Colorado State Penitentiary view of the proposed recreation ground
- Men work among piled rock and wood frames at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado. Wheelbarrows, a big wood toolbox, a tent and a rock embankment dot the area. The prison wall, East gate, guard tower and bare trees are in the background.
- Canon City (Colo.)--1930-1940.; Construction--Colorado--Canon City--1930-1940.; Prisons--Colorado--Canon City--1930-1940.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- [between 1930 and 1940?]
- Penitentiary staff
- Posing in double breasted uniforms and black ties, staff members of the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, hold pith helmets over their hearts. In the center of the seated front row, a man in a white suit has a young girl with him. A stone...
- Correctional personnel--Colorado--Canon City--1890-1900.; Canon City (Colo.)--1890-1900.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- [between 1890 and 1895?]
- Penitentiary staff
- Posing in black suits and white ties, staff members of the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, have moustaches and wear flowers in their lapels.
- Correctional personnel--Colorado--Canon City--1890-1900.; Canon City (Colo.)--1890-1900.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- [between 1890 and 1895?]
- Deputy warden
- Posing in a black suit and white tie, the Deputy Warden of the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, wears a black fedora and carries a cane. Behind him is a painted backdrop of a lake, trees, and a female nude silhouette.
- Prison wardens--Colorado--Canon City--1890-1900.; Canon City (Colo.)--1890-1900.; Colorado State Penitentiary.
- [between 1890 and 1895?]