Clifton Cliff Prison – inaccessibility born of nature and man (6 photos + 1 video)

If you have the desire and skill, you can escape from almost any casemate. Of course, in modern conditions, with the presence of electronics in correctional institutions, this is more difficult to do. But this Old West prison, built into the rock, was said to be impossible to leave.





The small mining town of Clifton, Arizona, had a problem, not a big one. When residents were tried for crimes there or in the nearby town of Morenci, they were not sentenced to prison. Instead, they were sentenced to a certain period of work in the copper mines that fueled the area's economy.



The problem was that many of the convicted criminals simply ran away from the area (and who would stop them?) rather than show up for work or work in the underground tunnels. Therefore, in 1881, Clifton decided to build a prison from which no one could escape. It was built underground, in the depths of granite rock.





The city hired local mason Margarito Varela to build the prison. Using a pickaxe and explosives, Varela dug a tunnel that led underground and further into the cave. The cave was divided into two cells: a smaller one for dangerous criminals and a larger one for those accused of not particularly serious crimes.



Each one had a window to let in fresh air and some light. But the windows were located at a height of three meters from the floor of the cave. Finally, Varela screwed heavy iron bars and doors to the rock.

According to unverified local reports, when Varela completed construction of the prison, he was paid for the work. And the bricklayer went to the local bar to drink and celebrate.



Later, a very drunk Varela, happy with the fee, began joyfully firing a pistol into the air to attract people's attention and tell them about his grandiose completed project. The owner of the bar, who was also a deputy sheriff and was categorically not happy about this behavior in his establishment, immediately arrested Varela.



So the unlucky builder became the first inhabitant of the prison he built. It was used until 1906, when the area experienced severe flooding. The underground dungeons began to fill with water, and the prisoners had to be rescued by breaking out the bars on the windows and lowering ropes to pull them out.

Due to the flood, the prison was filled with so much silt and debris that it was abandoned. In 1929, city officials began restoring the old prison to preserve it as a historical heritage site. In 1962, the State of Arizona erected a historical plaque in front of the building. In 1990, the prison, along with the rest of downtown Clifton, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.