The Museum’s mission is to collect, preserve, conserve, exhibit, and interpret the historical heritage of the Colorado Prison System, to operate and maintain the Museum, and to encourage and foster historical research, study, education, and scholarly publications in these areas. It also serves as a reminder to the public that crime has a consequence.
The concept of the Museum originated by a group of concerned Fremont County residents. In the early 1980’s, the project began with volunteers seeking to obtain the use of the former Women’s Prison building, which was constructed in 1935. It is located adjacent to the east wall of the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility, an active prison since 1871. Approval by the Colorado State Legislature on April 24, 1986 gave the city of Canon City, which in turn gave to the Foundation, a 99-year lease to use the cell house as a museum.
A Board of Directors was organized on October 15, 1986 and immediately started to raise the necessary funds for stabilizing the building, upgrading the heating and lighting systems, and providing access for the handicapped. Grants, lottery proceeds, in-kind contributions, donations, and loans were all used to cover the expenses necessary for repairs and opening operational expenses.
Renovation of the cell house was completed in June 1988, just in time for the summer tourist season. The restoration preserved the atmosphere of the original cell house, as it was when it housed inmates. While construction work was being completed, volunteers collected and catalogued artifacts and began to establish exhibits portraying the Colorado Prison System from 1871 to the present.