The Museum of Colorado Prisons in Cañon City, Colorado, is a nonprofit institution housed in a former state women’s prison built in 1935, east of the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility, known as Old Max, which has operated since 1871. Created through an effort by Fremont County residents in the early 1980s, it gained legislative approval in 1986 and opened in 1988 after volunteers and a board of directors raised funds to restore the old cell house for public use. Its purpose is to preserve, exhibit, and interpret the history of Colorado’s prison system, support research and education, and remind visitors of the consequences of crime.