Table Of ContentThe Pennsylvania State College
The Graduate School
Department of History
THE HISTORY OP AUBURN PRISON
FROM THE BEGINNING TO ABOUT 1867
A Dissertation
by
Ralph S. Herre
Submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education
February, 1950
APPROVED
Assistant Professor of History
' ~ ^ 5JLr g. ------
Associate Professor of History
^ead, Department of History
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F O R E W O R D
Auburn Prison from its beginnings to about 1867 has been selected
for study because of two controlling factors. First, to it belongs the
distinction of having given to the world the so-called Auburn system of
prison discipline — solitary confinement of prisoners during the night
and silent labor in the coranon workshops during the day. Second, with
in its first twenty years (l820-l81|-0) Auburn became the model and
inspiration for a score of penitentiaries erected in the rapidly-
expanding states of America.
I was born and raised in the area of Auburn Prison, and since
youth have been interested in that institution. For years I have been
gathering materials from as many sources as possible; and these I have
endeavored to present so that a reader may see the birth, rise, and
decline of a system that emphasized a program of non-communication
among its Inmates and of profit-making for the state.
In pursuing the researches for this study, I have Incurred more
obligations than it will be possible for me to particularize in the
brief confines of a foreword. For their kindness in answering questions
addressed to them in correspondence and for making available various
facilities, I wish to express my gratitude to John F. Foster, Warden of
Auburn Prison, and to the Honorable John Taber, of Auburn, Hew York,
member of the United States House of Representatives, Thirty-Sixth
Congressional District, Hew York State. It is a pleasure to thank Judge
Richard C.S. Drummond, Secretary of the Cayuga County (Hew York) Histori
cal Society, who allowed me the privilege of using the newspaper files of
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the society, and to voice my obligations to Mrs. Clara Skilton of
Auburn, New York, vho transcribed materials from her personal collec
tions and other sources. To my colleague Dr. flfell Maupin of Bloomsburg
State Teachers College I am obligated for many suggestions, and to Dr.
Harvey A. Andruss, President of Bloomsburg State Teachers College, I
am grateful for his patience, his encouragement, and his confidence in
my project. My wife, Mrs. Eleanor L. Herre, has lightened my burdens
in many ways, even to the mounting of the photo-duplicates. I wish
also to thank the staffs of several libraries, especially those at the
Congressional Library and the Nee York Public Library, and those var
ious others to which, through inter-library loans, I have been a
ghostly visitant.
I am especially indebted to Dr. Philip S. Klein, chairman of my
committee, for reviewing the materials and making many invaluable
suggestions. Finally, I must acknowledge my deepest obligation to
Dr. Ira V. Brown, who has been more than an adviser. He gave hours
of his time to help me over numerous difficulties. His encouragement,
combined with his sound literary taste and scholarship, has guided my
progress in many moments of uncertainty. For the imperfections of
this dissertation, only I am responsible; for any good aspects, Dr.
Brown merits most of the praise.
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TABUS OP CONTENTS
Chapter Page
I. EARLY PRISONS AND PRISON SYSTEMS IN AMERICA, WITH
ESPECIAL REFERENCE TO NEW YORK .................. . 1
Early punishments and the first prisons .............. 2
Corporal punishment for misdemeanors ................ 6
Other punishments .................................. 8
Imprisonment for deht .............................. 10
Imprisonment while awaiting trial ........ ........... 11
Capital punishment in post-Revolutlonary times ....... 11
Attempts to reform prison practice ............... 13
Old traditions versus new developments ............... Ik
The Cherry Hill experiment .......................... 21
The first New York state prison ..................... 23
Need for a new prison......... ..................... 29
II. THE BIRTH OF THE "AUBURN PRISON" .................... 30
Legislative decision to erect a new prison at Auburn ... 32
Political influences determining the choice...... . 3^
Site of the prison ........... .................. 35
Design and construction of the first building, l8l6 .... 37
Assistance and political influence of the community .... k2
William Brittin, first warden, and his staff ......... k3
Facilities for segregation, with especial reference
to incarceration of females ...................... k6
Recognition of conditions .......................... kl
Influences which made possible a major reorganization .. l*-8
Root causes of the development of the "Auburn System" .. 55
Revision of the prison structure .................... 57
First attempts at operation, 1819-1820 .... .......... 60
III. ANALYSIS OF THE "AUBURN SYSTEM" IN EARLY OPERATION (l8l6-
1830) ................................ 62
The "Auburn System": the theory and the goal ..... 62
Selection of the warden and his staff ....... ........ 65
Launching the new system........................... 66
68
Lynds * definition of prison discipline ...... ........
68
Lynds * policy ......... ............................
Three key men in Auburn’s early years ............... 71
Care and custody of the inmates ..................... 73
Crowded cells .................. ................... 79
80
Ventilation, heat, and light ........................
Workshops ......................................... 82
Medical care .................................... 81*-
Identity of policy at Auburn and Sing Sing ............ 85
88
System in full swing ...............................
iii
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Chapter Page
IV. SUCCESSES AMD FAILURES AT AUBURM (I83O-I867) ............ 89
Treatment of prisoners ................................ 89
The silent system ..................................... 99
Contract labor........... 98
Competition for the use of prison labor................ 98
Advantages and disadvantages of the physical structure
of the prison .................................... 102
Fixed sentences and abuses of the pardoning povef of
Governors ........................................ 102
Indeterminate sentences and pardons ................. 105
Reduction of sentences; pardons ........................ 105
Revision of the penal code ......... ................... 107
Evils inherent in the Auburn System .............. 107
Apparent financial success of the institution........... Ill
V. THE CONTRACT SYSTEM AS INTRODUCED AT AUBURN............. 112
Summary of previous attempts at gainful employment of
prison labor ...................................... 112
Legal status of contract labor......... ............... 116
Variety of prison labor determined by prison authorities .. 119
Silk£making experiment ................................ 121
Aspects of prison labor at Auburn, 1820-1866 ............ 125
Summary of benefits of contract labor .................. 135
VI. ADMINISTRATION AND SUPERVISION......................... 1^0
Management, 1820-1850 ...... .......................... 1^0
Control .................................... .......... 1^2
Supervision and reports to the legislature .............. 1^3
Health of the inmates ................................. 153
Responsibility for prison shops and property ............ 156
Later administrative systems .................. 160
Classification and segregation of inmates ............... 165
VII. INMATE WELFARE, EDUCATION, AND RELIGIOUS GUIDANCE....... 168
Formation and objectives of the Prison Association of
Nev York ........................................ 169
Overall summary of the vork of the Prison Association of
Nev York (I81t4-l869) ............................. 171
The Boston Prison Discipline Society again .............. 172
Religious, secular, and trade education at Auburn
(1820-1866) ...................................... 173
Women in Auburn Prison....... ...................... 180
Welfare vork ......................................... 182
Introduction of library services ....................... 184
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Chapter Page
VIII. THE PRISON AND THE COMMUNITY OF AUBURN............ 188
Prominent citizens of Auburn ..................... 189
Effect of Auburn Prison upon the community ...... 192
Summary of the prison*s effect on the community 198
IX. THE "AUBURN SYSTEM" AS A NATIONAL MODEL ......... 202
National publicity attracted to the Auburn experiment 202
Famous visitors and their comments ................ 205
Powers * financial profits from these visitors ...... 208
Prisons created on the Auburn principle (1820-1840) . 210
Prisons in the United States on the Auburn Model
(until 1870) ................................ 218
Changes in the original "Auburn System" introduced by
these new institutions ........ .............. 222
National and international comment on the "Auburn
System" .................................... 224
X. DECLINE OF THE "AUBURN SYSTEM" ................... 230
The early American prison (1787-1830) ............. 230
The Pennsylvania and the Auburn Systems (I83O-I867) * 231
Review of the routine and the establishment of prison
customs .................................... 232
Review of Auburn's status in I855 .............. 234
The decision to build Elmira Reformatory........... 237
Segregation of inmates, 1855-1860 .................. 240
The "Reformatory System" ....... .................. 243
Auburn becomes a rehabilitation-type prison, 1855 .... 245
Abandonment of the contract system................. 248
Reorganization of Auburn Prison, 1866 ....... 251
Auburn's place in the penological sphere ........... 253
Accomplishments of the "Auburn System" (I816-I867) ... 259
Evolution of Auburn, 1816-1866 .................... 26l
The final reckoning ....... ................... 262
Bibliography ..................................... 266
v
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Page
Auburn State Prison, 1869......... Frontispiece
Auburn System of Cell Blocks ............................ 147-148
Route of Keepers .......... ....................................151-152
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n. AUBURN STATE PRISON, 1869.
Statistics, 1869.—Location, In the city of Auburn, an outlet of Owaaco Lake, fronting east. Established In 1817. Area of Grounds, 400 by 100 feet. Front wall 20 feet
high. Side and rear walls 30 feet high. Center main building 66 feet high, wings 46 feet high. Front-length of building 387 feet. Valuations,—Real, 1542,706.00; Personal,
263,516.43 ; Total, 2706,211.43. Average number of convicts for the year, 949 11-12.
Bkiterbnces.—A, Agent and Warden’s dwelling, and offloes of Clerk, Agent and Warden and Inspectors. B B B B, North wing, containing 550 Cells. C C, Dining
Hall In 1st story and Kitchen in rear,—2d story, Chapel, Chaplain’s Office and Library,—Sd story, Hospital and Store-Rooms. D D D, Sooth extension containing 443
Cells. E, New extension (unfinished), containing 800 Cells. (Total Cells, when finished, 1292.) F, Sash and Blind Shop. G, Tool Shop. H, HameShop. II, 8hoe8hop.
J, State 8hop In 1st story; Shoe Shop in 2d story. K, Cabinet Shop. L L, Reaper and Kower Shop. H, Foundry. N, Axle Shop. OOOO, Vacant Shops, PPP,
Owasoo outlet. Q, Asylum for Insane Convicts RR. N. Y. C. Railroad. S S. State Street. T T, Wall street,— 2 " Copper John."
1
CHAPTER I
EARLY HUSOES AND PRISON SYSTEMS IN AMERICA, WITH ESPECIAL
REFERENCE TO NEW YORK
In a score of good-sized cities throughout the United States, towns
people and visitors see the gaunt stone walls of century-old prisons.
Most of them are abandoned now, replaced by newer, more comfortable, and
larger institutions erected on the outskirts of these same cities. A
few of the old stone cell-blocks, however, are still in use. One of
these, the progenitor of all modern American prisons, the first such
cell-block in the world, is the north wing of Auburn Prison, in the
downtown area of Auburn, New York.
This study is the story of the Auburn State Prison that at 133 State
Street dominates the city skyline with tall smokestacks rearing from
behind its concrete walls. "Copper John," the metal figure of a soldier
which was perched atop the old building, has been transferred to the new
one and remains the institution's mascot The ambition of inmates, it
is often said, is to look "Copper John" in the face, a deed which can
be accomplished only from outside the prison walls. Briefly, it is the
purpose of this research paper to tell how the Auburn system was born,
how it grew, and how, in 1867, it was modified at Auburn to attain a
^Before the old main building was replaced in 1939 by a modern
structure, "Copper John" surmounted the pinnacle of the central building.
Historically, his poise and his toggery are very much like those singular
characteristics displayed by the soldier in rank of General George Wash
ington's Life Guard, after wham he was probably patterned. See Frank A.
Skilton, "New Pacts about 'Copper John,'" Auburn Advertiser-Journal,
June 9, 1922.
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2
semblance of concurrence with accepted prison practice nationally. In
analyzing the rise and fall of such a phenomenon, the historian must find
the influences which churned up American social life to such a point that
a living death like that of Auburn became possible. That quest has its
beginnings just after the American Revolution, when it became apparent to
the new nation that its several states must look after the punishment of
their own citizens and administer their own systems of reformation.
Early punishments and the first prisons. Until the close of the
Revolutionary period, crime in the colonies was punished by physical
means such as nose-slitting, ear-cropping, branding, the stocks, and in
New England the ducking stool.2 The whipping post was so constructed
.. .that the body is bent over an upright plank,
and the wrist and ankles confined by being thrust
through openings, as in the stocks. The position
of the body could not well be more favourable to
a laceration of it at every stroke, and the strain
ing of the skin in bending over greatly assists the
process.3
Another ingenious device was the penitentiary treadmill, which
2"Report of the Agent of the Mount-Pleasant State Prison, relative to
the Government and Discipline of That Prison," New York State Senate, Docu
ments , 57 Session (183^), II, no.92, pp.3-6; Alice M. Earle, Curious
Punishments of Bygone Days (Chicago, 1896), 11-28. 29-^2, 86-95> 138-1^9J
William Andrews, Bygone Punishments (London: l899)> 138-1^2, 186-200, 2^3-
275; Frederick G. Pettigrove, *'The State Prisons of the United States under
Separate and Congregate Systems," in Correction and Prevention (Charles R.
Henderson, editor; New York: 1910), I, 27-31; Philip Klein, Prison Methods
in New York State (New York: 1920), 19-35S Harry E. Barnes, The Story of
JV
Punishment: A Record of Man1s Inhumanity to Man (Boston: 1930 5^~W
>
122-130, 131-1357
^[Frederick A. Pafckard] Memorandum of a Late Visit to Some of the
Principal Hospitals, Prisons, &c. in France, Scotland, and England. Em
braced in a Letter to the Acting Committee of the Philadelphia Society for
Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons ^Philadelphia: 18^0), 7• See
also Earle, o£. cit., 70-5T; Andrews, o£. cit., 209-226.
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