The cigar maker Our creepiness rating 💀💀💀💀💀
In 2022 a site staffer, Slider, told Cowboy State Daily that the prison's only ghost is said to be Julius Greenwald, prisoner No. 338. He was jailed for shooting his wife in 1897, made cigars in prison and died there of a heart attack. Visitors report smelling cigar smoke. Slider said she does not disbelieve it but is not a believer. Source: Cowboy State Daily, 2022.
Facts below are drawn from the linked sources.
Real history
Built in 1872, it was a federal penitentiary until 1890 and a state prison until 1901, then a University of Wyoming experiment station until 1989. It became a state historic site in 2004 (Wikipedia).
Sources differ: Cowboy State Daily names the cigar-making ghost Julius Greenwald, prisoner No. 338 (Cowboy State Daily, 2022); Travel Wyoming names him Julius Greenwelch, inmate #338 (Travel Wyoming). The Wyoming State Archives holds the prison's inmate files (Wyoming State Archives), but this check did not confirm the spelling there.
Ghost stories
These are reported legends, not verified events. The creepiness score (1–5) is Spook Atlas's own editorial rating, not a measurement.
Then and now
Public access
Open to the public Wyoming State Parks lists the site open daily May–September and Thursday to Saturday October–April, with closures on some holidays (Wyoming State Parks). Last checked: Oct 31, 2026.
Explore more
- More places in Laramie and Wyoming
- More haunted & abandoned prisons
- Nearby: Atlas Theatre (Cheyenne, WY), Plains Hotel (Cheyenne, WY), Virginian Hotel (Medicine Bow, WY), The Stanley Hotel (Estes Park, CO)
⚠️ Please read: This information may be outdated and conditions change. Verify access with the owner or operator before you go. Spook Atlas does not encourage trespassing. Entering private, closed or condemned property can be illegal and dangerous. Report a correction.
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