The settlement of Auburn had only just been legally incorporated on April 18th, 1815[1] when Auburn Prison was constructed in the town between 1816 and 1825. The prison was built in order to relieve the overcrowding in state prisons, such as New York City’s Newgate Prison.[2] Reportedly, in its initial excavations for the foundation an Indian graveyard with human bones, pottery fragments, and utensils was discovered, which is a fitting start to a prison notorious for horrendous conditions that would craft a symbolic graveyard for its prisoners.[3] Auburn Prison is still open today, although it has been rebranded to Auburn Correctional Facility and does not feature the same abhorrent prisoner treatment that was common its earlier years.[4]

Reportedly, in its initial excavations for the foundation an Indian graveyard with human bones, pottery fragments, and utensils was discovered, which is a fitting start to a prison notorious for horrendous conditions.

            For its first few years of operation, Auburn was an amalgamation of the Quaker Pennsylvania prison system and what would become known as the Auburn prison system. The Pennsylvania prison system was intensely focused on penitence and reformation, and thought this could be accomplished through solitary confinement. Prisoners were kept in their cells at all times, which featured a relatively small exercise yard. They were occupied by work like weaving or reading the Bible.[21] Some notable crossover features include complete isolation and a strict adherence to silence, and a view of incarceration as a temporary death.

            However, as time went on, the Auburn prison system took a more distinct shape and the old Quaker practices were abandoned.[5] The administrators wanted to ensure that the purported criminal education and diffusing of vice that hitherto been a feature in prisons (i.e. Walnut Street and Newgate) was not possible at Auburn.[6] The system that emerged was much harsher than that of Pennsylvania, as the creators believed that adult felons needed to be whipped (literally) into obedience. There was congregate, factory-like labor during the day and solitary confinement for the prisoners at night. The system put the violence and humiliation back into punishment that the Quakers had taken great pains to remove. The lash or cat-o’-nine tails came to epitomize the system because of its use in the brutality and corporal punishment within the prisons of the system. [7] Its usage in the prison as discipline was abolished in late 1847, after a nearly decade long reform effort after a prisoner died after an especially grisly lashing in 1838.[8] After the cat’s outlaw, the shower bath became the preferred method of punishment. It was considered a severe, but humane treatment, even though it simulated the experience of drowning and was a precursor to modern-day water boarding.[9]

The system that emerged was much harsher than that of Pennsylvania, as the creators believed that adult felons needed to be whipped (literally) into obedience.

            Another important feature of the Auburn system is Elam Lynds, one of the early wardens of the prison. He served two terms: one from 1821 to 1825,[10] and the other from 1838 to 1839.[11] He was a disciplined veteran of the War of 1812 and introduced harsh policies to the prison each time he was in charge. He aimed to create an institution of terror for the convicts in order to dissuade future wrong doing. His cynical view of the rehabilitation of prisoners can be best summed in this quote: “I don’t believe in reformation of an adult criminal. He’s a coward, a willful lawbreaker whose spirit must be broken by the lash.”[12] Both of Lynds’s terms ended in scandal, after his strict enforcement of brutal rules resulted in the untimely death of prisoners. The subsequent wardens retained the inherent cruelty of the system but rolled back the added malice of Lynds’s policies.[13]

I don’t believe in reformation of an adult criminal. He’s a coward, a willful lawbreaker whose spirit must be broken by the lash.”

            An enlargement of the prison was deemed necessary in 1834, as the prison housed many prisoners.[14] Unlike previous prisons that housed all convicts the same, which allowed for the aforementioned alleged criminal education, Auburn imposed classification on its convicts. The first class of prisoners were deemed the most dangerous and were housed in continuous solitary confinement until the practice was abolished in the mid 1820s for being too injurious and severe. The second and third classes of prisoners were viewed more favorable and allowed to work during the day and only be confined separately at night. After the first class’s perpetual solitary confinement was abolished they also joined in on the congregate labor.[15]

            Prison life began for convicts with an official entry in the records of their name, age, native country, and occupation. Then they were examined by a physician who took careful and descriptive notes. Prisoners had to don a striped suit (this practice was eventually terminated later on in the 19th century) and were shaven and shorn like sheep. After cell assignment, they were also assigned a trade, where one would “lose his individuality” because they became valued solely by their work. They were little more than cogs in the prison machine. [16] Prisoners worked at this job for the entirety of the day, except for short breaks for breakfast and lunch, which were conducted in complete silence. Inmates were situated at the common tables so they could not even make eye contact. Throughout their day, keepers were always present, to keep order and impose silence. At night, prisoners were marched back to their cells so they could be securely locked up before it became dark enough to abet in escaping.[17] Although silence was strictly enforced, the design of the prison made communication possible between inmates at night. The ventilation present (although it was very poor) allowed for undetected communication, as the individual cell walls were so thick that the guards could not hear.[18]

Prisoners' had to don a striped suit...and were shaven and shorn like sheep. After cell assignment, they were also assigned a trade, where one would "lose his individuality”.

            Visiting the prison and viewing the prisoners was a popular pastime, especially after this enlargement. This use of display of prisoners was a significant departure from the Quakers' commitment to the protection of people’s anonymity and privacy seen in the Pennsylvania system.[19] Visitors had to pay admittance and would be led through the prison by the keepers. These visitors were not seen by the prisoners, as the routes taken were hidden. Visitors were able to view the prisoners at work in the shops undetected.[20]

            In Isaac T. Hopper's diary, numerous clients such as Henry Quin and Reuben Gray come to the Prison Association Office from Auburn Prison. These are just two of many Auburn inmates that can be found throughout the diary, as Auburn Prison was a popular destination for society’s delinquents of both sexes in the 19th century.

[1] Henry Hall, The History of Auburn (Auburn, NY: Dennis Bro's &, 1869), 126.

[2] Mitchel P. Roth, Prisons and Prison Systems: A Global Encyclopedia (Westport: Greenwood Press, 2006), 17.

[3] Henry Hall, The History of Auburn, 131.

[4] Joshua M. Price, "The Birth of the Penitentiary," in Prison and Social Death (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2015), 97, https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt15jjc08.9.

[5] Mitchel P. Roth, Prisons and Prison Systems: A Global Encyclopedia, 18.

[6] [6] Henry Hall, The History of Auburn, 345.

[7] Joshua M. Price, "The Birth of the Penitentiary," in Prison and Social Death, 98.

[8] Henry Hall, The History of Auburn, 359-358.

[9] Joshua M. Price, "The Birth of the Penitentiary," in Prison and Social Death, 98.

[10] Henry Hall, The History of Auburn, 349.

[11] Ibid., 355-357.

[12] Joshua M. Price, "The Birth of the Penitentiary," in Prison and Social Death, 98,

[13] Henry Hall, The History of Auburn, 349-358.

[14] Ibid., 137.

[15] Ibid., 351-352

[16] Henry Hall, The History of Auburn, 361.

[17] Ibid., 365

[18] Mitchel P. Roth, Prisons and Prison Systems: A Global Encyclopedia, 18.

[19] Joshua M. Price, "The Birth of the Penitentiary," in Prison and Social Death, 98,

[20] Henry Hall, The History of Auburn, 355.

[21] The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Pennsylvania System," Encyclopædia Britannica, July 20, 1998, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pennsylvania-system.