Atlas Obscura - Latest • Feb. 2, 2026, 5:15 p.m.

When it opened in 1908, the Old Penitentiary of Sonora was considered one of the cleanest and most modern prisons in Mexico. Constructed during the waning years of the Porfiriato regime, which sought to impose a scientific vision of "order and progress," the prison was part of a broader effort to overhaul Mexican society.

This is not to say that unspeakable horrors did not occur there, including the imprisonment of the indigenous Yaqui people and political dissidents against various governments. Also of interest is that Mexico's last execution of civilians, Francisco Ruiz Corrales and José Rosario Zamarripa, occurred here in 1957.

Eventually, the once modern prison became crowded and outdated, leading to its closure in 1979. It was subsequently converted to become the Regional Museum of Sonora, reopening in 1985.

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