Sheriff Glasson Found the Penitentiary Guarded with Weaponry
Dublin Core
Title
Sheriff Glasson Found the Penitentiary Guarded with Weaponry
Description
Sheriff Glasson arrived at the Penitentiary and Warden Tynan set up a fortress to protect the Colorado State Penitentiary from seizure. Glasson described the scene in the following article.
Transcription:
GLASSON FINDS PEN BRISTLING WITH WEAPONS
Sheriff Seeks to Penetrate Iron Gate with Divorce Summons, but is Quickly Repulsed
Sheriff Glasson received Wednesday morning from the sheriff of Archuleta county a summons to be read to a prisoners in the penitentiary in the case of Lester vs. Lester, a divorce proceeding and took it to the prison to serve it as required by law.
On arriving at the prison gates he found them locked and the entrance guarded by special deputies as if expecting an assault upon the institution. Eight or ten men with sawed off shotguns paroled the street in front of the prison entrance and a machine gun was placed at the head of the prison stairway to repel possible invaders. No arsenal, states Sheriff Glasson on his return to town, could present a more warlike appearance than the penitentiary at the time of his visit.
Guards at the prison gate refused to permit the sheriff to see the warden, the deputy warden or any other officials of the institution. The belligerent, unfriendly attitude of the place suggested hostilities and [?] the sheriff to return to his office with his mission unfulfilled. He did not stand upon the order of his going, but left immediately after being denied admittance.
Sheriff Glasson also carried an executive order in his pocket from Governor Morley demanding that the prison be turned over to him pending an investigation of the charges against Warden Tynan, but he could not get within gunshot of the warden to make its contents known.
The Prison has been converted into a fortress during the last few days to resist unfriendly visitors.
Transcription:
GLASSON FINDS PEN BRISTLING WITH WEAPONS
Sheriff Seeks to Penetrate Iron Gate with Divorce Summons, but is Quickly Repulsed
Sheriff Glasson received Wednesday morning from the sheriff of Archuleta county a summons to be read to a prisoners in the penitentiary in the case of Lester vs. Lester, a divorce proceeding and took it to the prison to serve it as required by law.
On arriving at the prison gates he found them locked and the entrance guarded by special deputies as if expecting an assault upon the institution. Eight or ten men with sawed off shotguns paroled the street in front of the prison entrance and a machine gun was placed at the head of the prison stairway to repel possible invaders. No arsenal, states Sheriff Glasson on his return to town, could present a more warlike appearance than the penitentiary at the time of his visit.
Guards at the prison gate refused to permit the sheriff to see the warden, the deputy warden or any other officials of the institution. The belligerent, unfriendly attitude of the place suggested hostilities and [?] the sheriff to return to his office with his mission unfulfilled. He did not stand upon the order of his going, but left immediately after being denied admittance.
Sheriff Glasson also carried an executive order in his pocket from Governor Morley demanding that the prison be turned over to him pending an investigation of the charges against Warden Tynan, but he could not get within gunshot of the warden to make its contents known.
The Prison has been converted into a fortress during the last few days to resist unfriendly visitors.
Source
"Glasson Finds Pen Bristling With Weapons," The Daily Record, 1925, Tynan Family File, Royal Gorge Museum, Cañon City, Colorado.
Citation
“Sheriff Glasson Found the Penitentiary Guarded with Weaponry,” Cañon City: Ku Klux Klan and Prisons , accessed November 15, 2026, https://coloradocollege.website/prison/items/show/66.