Felix Alston (1869-1956) - the Wyoming State Museum

Felix Alston led an eventful life. At
various times, he worked as a:
cowboy on the Texas Trail; gold
miner; election judge; feed store
employee and owner; water and
ice man; farmer; Yellowstone
National Park guide; justice of the
peace; tax collector; deputy
sheriff; and sheriff. He is most
well-known for being the
investigator of Wyoming’s Spring
Creek Raid, in which a number of
cattle ranchers murdered three
sheep ranchers.
As warden, Alston brought a
number of reforms to the prison.
He brought books into the facility,
provided educational opportunities,
and added a physical fitness program
for the inmates. Alston also believed
that inmates should give back to the
community and ensured that crews of
prisoners were kept busy making road
repairs in the state. He is best
remembered for creating a prison
baseball team, which included two
inmates he had previously arrested for
arson and murder in the Spring Creek
Raid. Alston served as warden of the
prison until March, 1919.
Wyoming State Prison Baseball Team, 1911
Warden Alston’s son, Felix, Jr. served as the
team’s bat boy.
Wyoming State Archives Photo Collection
Neg. # 9664
Alston left Wyoming in 1920. He
spent time in Texas and Mexico,
finally settling for good in California,
where he died in 1956, at the age of
86.