In 1816, assemblyman John H. Beach lobbied New York State to make the town of Auburn the site for a new prison.[3] Beach and his colleagues secured the contract for the town of Auburn, and sold a plot of land to the state of New York on the north bank of the Owasco Outlet for the prison to be built.[4] Constructed in 1816[5] as Auburn Prison, it was the second state prison in New York (after New York City's Newgate, 1797–1828), the site of the first execution by electric chair in 1890, and the namesake of the "Auburn system," a correctional system in which prisoners were housed in solitary confinement in large rectangular buildings, and forced to participate in penal labor under silence that was enforced at all times. Auburn's role in introducing the electric chair contributed greatly to the historicity of the prison as it was soon adopted by many other prisons for being considered more humane than hanging, despite initial controversy. At the time of the prison's founding, it was the town of Auburn's largest structure.[6] The prison was renamed the Auburn Correctional Facility in 1970.[1] The prison is among the oldest functional prisons in the United States.
In its early years, the prison charged a fee to tourists in order to raise funds for the prison. Eventually, to discourage most visitors, the fee was increased. In the 1840s, adult tourists paid twenty-five cents, whereas the children's admittance fee was half the price.[7] Tourists would be escorted through the prison's factory floors and observe prisoners at work directly, or escorted through tunnels, and remain out of sight, allowing tourists to watch prisoners while they labored.[8] The Auburn Prison attracted enormous amounts of tourists in the middle of the nineteenth century, which added to the town's local economy and service industries.
The current front of Auburn Prison. Note the two guard towers on either side and Copper John on top
Lockstep in the Auburn PrisonElam Lynds, the first warden of the Auburn Penitentiary, is credited with creating the "Auburn (or Congregate) system."Female prisoners in Auburn's workshop
In contrast with the purely reformatory type prison instituted in Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia System introduced by the Quakers, the "Auburn system" modified the schedule of prayer, contemplation, and humane conditions with hard labor.
Prisoners were compelled to work during the day, and the profit of their labor helped to support the prison. The contract labor system of Auburn Prison was very financially useful to the state, producing large amounts of money, especially from the manufacturing of shoes and textiles in the 19th century. Prisoners were segregated by offense; additionally they were issued clothing that identified their crime. The traditional American prison uniform, consisting of horizontal black and white stripes, originated at the Auburn prison. The prisoners had their heads closely cropped when they entered the prison. Prisoners' heads, mustaches, and beards would be shaved, then they would be stripped and dunked in water before receiving their prison uniform.[9] Then, the prison clerk questioned each prisoner and recorded their answers in the prison register.[10] Questions included personal information like height, age, place of birth, and family background, but also questions about the charges made against the prisoner.[11] The final step of the intake procedure involved questioning new prisoners about their previous work so they could be assigned to a specific shop within the prison.[12] Once assigned to a shop, prisoners were forced to work, supporting the financial needs of the prison.[13] After the prisoner's intake procedure was complete, and once inside the prison, prisoners were forced to walk in lockstep, keeping step with their heads bowed. Each prisoner placed a hand on the shoulder of the man in front of him to maintain a rigid separation.
There was a communal dining room so that the prisoners could gather together for meals, but a code of silence was enforced harshly at all times by the guards. Thus the inmates worked and ate together, but in complete silence. At night the prisoners were kept in individual cells (even though the original plan called for double cells).
The Auburn System had quite an impressive resonance in the various global prison reform movements and for several decades, this system was adopted by other jurisdictions in Massachusetts, Ohio, and even as far as England and Canada adopted similar practices. This system was also called the "Congregate System." The Sing Sing Correctional Facility, also in New York, was built using this system under the supervision of the former warden of the Auburn prison, Elam Lynds.
Auburn has "a long history of controversy, scandal, and riot."[15]
It has been the site of several notable riots over the years, including November 1820 and a race-related riot in 1921. The most serious were two related incidents in the summer and winter of 1929. On July 28, 1929—only a week after a similar incident at Clinton Prison in Dannemora—inmates sprayed acid in an officer’s face and gained access to the prison's armory. Prison shops were set on fire, six buildings were destroyed, and four prisoners escaped. Two inmates were killed and one wounded, and five officers were injured. Later that year, on December 11, Warden Edgar Jennings and six guards were taken hostage by a group of inmates, some of whom had obtained guns in the July riot and concealed them in the interim. This uprising caused the death of Principal Keeper George A. Durnford as well as eight prisoners. Three inmates were later charged, convicted, and executed at Sing Sing for their roles in the riots.[16][17]
On November 4, 1970, inmates succeeded in seizing control of the facility and held 50 people, including guards and outside construction workers, hostage for more than eight hours. The incident was attributed to increasing racial tensions and to prisoners' rights being violated.[18]
Copper John as he is todayThe original Copper John
Copper John is a statue of an American Revolutionary War soldier that stands atop the Auburn Correctional Facility. It has entered the local lexicon as a reference to the prison and aspects of it, for example, getting sent to Auburn Prison is "going to work for Copper John."
"John" was originally a wooden statue that was erected atop the administration office of the prison in 1821. In 1848, the statue had weathered so much that it was taken down and a new statue was made out of copper by the prisoners in the prison foundry. In 2004, the New York state government became aware that the statue was fashioned to be "anatomically correct" and ordered the statue to be "incorrected". Some correctional officers made an impromptu protest by passing out T-shirts showing the iconic statue and reading "Save Copper John's Johnson"; but the statue was nonetheless removed, his penis was filed off, and remounted in August.[19]
Wardens/superintendents
The warden was an administrative position appointed by the New York State Commissioner of Correction. Currently, the heads of all New York State correctional facilities are termed "superintendent".
^ ab"Archived copy"(PDF). www.correctionalassociation.org. Archived from the original(PDF) on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ abcd"Auburn Prison Beginnings". Retrieved 2014-09-01. William Brittin, who died in 1821, master carpenter and builder of the prison who became its first agent and warden ... Elam Lynds, a lash wielding principal keeper who delighted in enforcing discipline. He was sadistic by nature.
^Bernstein, Robin (2024). Freeman's Challenge: The Murder That Shook America's Original Prison for Profit. The University of Chicago Press. pp. 12–13.
^Bernstein, Robin (2024). Freeman's Challenge: The Murder That Shook America's Original Prison for Profit. The University of Chicago Press. p. 13.
^ ab"Changes In The Prisons. James C. Stout To Succeed Warden Durston At Auburn". The New York Times. April 4, 1893. Retrieved 2014-09-03. Gov. Flower has undertaken to 'shake up' the State prison Wardens, and some lively developments may be looked for during the next two weeks. Orders will be issued within a day or two directing Warden Charles A. Durston to proceed to Sing Sing Prison and relieve Warden William B. Brown, who will be requested to walk into the secluded shades of private life. ... The new Warden of Auburn Prison is to be James C. Stout of Auburn, and thereby hangs a political tale particularly interesting at this time ...
^"The Evolution of the New York Prison System". Retrieved 2014-09-01. ... the warden's first assistant, who was responsible for the day-to-day operation of the prison, was known as the "'principal keeper.'
^Gooley, Lawrence P. (2009). Terror in the Adirondacks: The True Story of Serial Killer Robert F. Garrow. Peru, NY: Bloated Toe Publishing. ISBN978-0-9795741-3-9.
^See New York State Archives, Record Group B0048, New York (State). Dept. of State, Respites and commutations, 1854-1931, Friday, May 16, 1884, Commutation of Sentence, Vol. 2, p. 31. He was not pardoned and thus still a convicted criminal but out of prison by reason of old age and various promises, later broken. He was subsequently convicted and incarcerated in Kings County Penitentiary until shortly before his death in 1889.
^Abraham Myerson, introduction to Prison Days and Nights, by Victor F. Nelson (New York: Garden City Publishing Co., Inc., 1936)
^Merrill, Anthony. "The Man Who Broke Charlestown". Boston Sunday Advertiser Green Magazine. December 17, 1939.
^"Movie Made Escaped Convict Go Back to Charleston Prison". The Boston Sunday Post. December 17, 1939.
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