If you haven't visited the Yuma Territorial Prision State Park in Yuma, Arizona, it might make for a good trip during their Gathering of the Gunfighters.
Old West re-enactment groups from around the Southwest will ride into town for this annual showdown at Yuma Territorial Prison SHP. Groups are judged on skits and whether their get-ups, gear and firearms are authentic to the 1876-1909 era.
And though they didn’t really have shootouts in the prison, the historic setting adds atmosphere to the fun.
Yuma Territorial Prison, on the banks of the Colorado, is a living museum of the Old West. Over 3,000 prisoners, convicted of crimes ranging from polygamy to murder, were imprisoned in rock and adobe cells during the prison's 33-year existence between 1876 and 1909.
The cells, main gate and guard tower are still standing, providing visitors with a glimpse of convict life in the Southwest a century ago. Be sure and take a walk out to the prison cemetery for a sense of the harsh realities of of that prison life
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