Minnie Hulett Snyder | LC's Cottage

Wyoming Territorial Prison – Part 2

What makes visiting historical places so interesting is the people that lived during the times of these places. Wyoming Territorial State Prison Historical Site, also known as ‘the big house across the river’, does a great job of sharing their stories. I am sharing a few in this post, so if you want to stick around, you might want to get yourself a cup. The photographs of the convicts are taken from their actual mug shots and are on display all over the walls of the penitentiary (from the word penitent).

Dr. May Preston Slosson was a very accomplished and gifted woman. In 1880, she became the first female doctoral graduate from Cornell University, as well as the first woman in the U.S. to earn a PhD in philosophy. She was an author, an educator, a painter, world traveler, and a suffragette.

In 1898, Slosson was chair of the prison committee of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union and she organized lectures for prisoners at the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Laramie. Prison Warden N. D. McDonald submitted her name, and Slosson was appointed Prison Chaplain on July 7, 1899, becoming the first female prison chaplain in the U.S.

Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site

Dr. Slosson aimed to build up the prisoners’ sense of self-respect and provide education that she believed would assist in an orderly transition from prison life to life outside the walls. Beyond leading religious services, she continued the lecture series, provided study programs, counseled prisoners, provided church services, arranged social programs, and served as a librarian and record keeper. In prisons of silence chaplains often acted as the voice of the prisoners. Warden McDonald supported her work because under her guidance as Chaplain, the prison punishment rate dropped by fifty percent.

“I enjoyed the work . The place was tragic, that is true.” – May Preston Slosson

Let’s meet a few of the prisoners who occupied cells like this one:

*Clicking on a photo will give you a closer look!

Out of 1063 prisoners at the penitentiary, there was a total of 13 women, with one of them serving time twice.

The women’s quarters offered no special amenities to the women. However, they did have relative privacy as their quarters were set well away from the male prisoner’s quarters. They had their own bathroom as well.

The women were not allowed out of the cellblock during their stay except to go to chapel. They did have use of the library. The wardens were determined to keep the women totally segregated from the men. They did not wear uniforms, nor did they have their heads shaved. Female convicts were perceived as a nuisance by male administrators throughout the West.

The women prisoners were not required to do heavy labor. They made and mended clothing for the male and female convicts.

Minnie Hulett Snyder and her husband, Peter, ranched in the Big Horn Basin region of Wyoming. They were having troubles with S. W. Aldrich, a neighbor.

An unknown person fired into Aldrich’s window one night and he claimed it was Minnie. Following horse tracks, April 3, 1898, led Aldrich and his men to the Snyders’ home. The Snyders and the Aldrich group set off to talk to Judge Benedict on Bull Creek. At the crossing of Belknaff Creek, near present day Cody, someone opened fire, and everyone took cover and pulled weapons. When the shooting was over, John Rooks, a friend of Aldrich, was dead and several believe Minnie fired the fatal shot with a Winchester.

The Snyders called it an ambush. Aldrich and his men claimed Peter was cattle rustling. Minnie told the jury that Aldrich was making advances and she wanted him to stop. Aldrich had been known to make unwanted advances towards women. Some said Aldrich wanted the Snyder ranch. In the end, the Snyders were convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to terms in prison. Aldrich was never implicated in any wrongdoing.

Letters from friends requesting her pardon attest to Minnie’s innocence. Minnie kept houseplants and a pet canary; she couldn’t be a killer. Opponents called Minnie debased, lewd, and ‘having no womanly instincts’.

95-pound Minnie kept her silence and endured years behind bars. The whole time, she and Peter were never allowed to speak to each other. Aldrich got the Snyder ranch, but, in the end, the entire Marquette area where these events occurred went underwater with the construction of the Buffalo Bill Dam and Reservoir in 1910.