Town of Prospect Heights Jailhouse

Settlement in the area of the Town of Prospect Heights dates back to the late 1880s; mostly associated with mining operations for the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company (CF&I). At the time, most of the surrounding communities were “dry,” prohibiting alcohol production, sales, distribution, and consumption.

Miners worked long and hard, they liked to play just as much, and this situation did not particularly suit them. Collaborating with local residents seeking an advantage over the neighboring community of Cañon City, they incorporated the town of Prospect Heights in 1905, and without alcohol restrictions. Saloons in the town quickly sprung up and operated 24 hours a day. The new environmental condition introduced a new problem, the drunk and disorderly and what to do with them.

Constructed in 1906, the 6 by 6.5 meter structure sits on a rubble stone foundation, with exterior walls of locally quarried and cut sandstone blocks. A low slope roof sits atop parapet walls stepping downward from the front of the building. The only openings are a door and a window on the front of the building, covered by hinged metal bars, and the interior contains three rooms; a front office and two jail cells.

The structure operated as a detention facility through 1913. It served as a playhouse and eventually a storage facility, but mostly it remained empty for a very long time. With abandonment, comes neglect, and the property remained mostly forgot until recently.

The Fremont County Historical Society obtained property in 2000 and began a preservation plan for this, the only municipal building constructed for the Town of Prospect Heights. With funding from the State Historical Fund, and a Historic Structure Assessment completed in 2014, the building joins an existing network of heritage sites in the area.

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Originally published on Atlas Obscura.

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further reading

Prospect Heights Jail
History of Colorado