Wethersfield State Prison

Wethersfield State Prison was the second state prison in the state of Connecticut. Used between 1827 and 1963, it was later demolished and the site turned into a park on the banks of the Connecticut River.

Wethersfield State Prison

Location	Wethersfield, Connecticut
Coordinates	41°43′12″N 72°39′31″W
Status	Closed
Capacity	788
Opened	21 October 1827
Closed	November, 1963
Managed by	Connecticut State Prison
Director	Wardens[1] 1827-1837 Moses C. Pilsbury 1837-1844 Amos Pilsbury 1844-1850 Elisha Johnson 1850-1851 Leonard R. Welles 1851-1852 Elisha Johnson 1852-1854 Leonard R. Welles 1854-1857 William Willard 1857-1862 N. Daniel Webster 1862-1870 William Willard 1870-1874 A. J. Botelle 1874-1879 E. B. Hewes 1879-1885 August Sargent 1885-1893 S. Chamberlain 1893-1899 Jabez L. Woodbridge 1899-1911 Albert Garvin 1911-1918 Ward A. Garner 1918-1920 Charles C. McClaughry 1920-1929 Henry K. W. Scott 1929-1934 Charles S. Reed 1934-1954 Ralph H. Walker 1954-1956 George A. Cummings 1956-1957 Frederick G. Reincke 1957-1961 Mark S. Richmond 1961-1963 Frederick G. Reincke

History

Connecticut opened the Wethersfield State Prison in September 1827 as a replacement for the decrepit Old Newgate Prison, which had begun as a copper mine. Although the prisoners had no longer been housed in the former mine galleries by that point, the above-ground facilities were inadequate for the state's need. 127 inmates were shackled together and marched the 20 miles from East Granby to Wethersfield.[2] The new prison was intended to be state of the art and was modeled after the Auburn State Prison in New York.[3] Wethersfield State Prison not only followed the physical model of Auburn, but it also followed the harsh Auburn System of prisoner control until 1900.[4] Prisoners were required to march in lockstep, forbidden from all talking, and expected to work to support the prison.

Until 1880, the cost of running the facility was met exclusively through prison labor.[5] Both male and female inmates worked: men as blacksmiths, carpenters, coopers, and tailors and women as domestic workers and cigar-makers.

The prison was built on 44 acres at the edge of Wethersfield Cove and the grounds included the 1774 Solomon Welles House, used as the Warden's residence.[2] Beginning as a single building, over the course of its 136-year history many more buildings and workshops were constructed until it became a "hodgepodge" of ill-matched structures within the surrounding walls.[4]

All executions carried out by the state of Connecticut between 1893 and 1960 took place at this prison.[2] A separate "execution house" was the site of 55 judicial hangings and 18 executions by electric chair.[6] Warden Jabez L. Woodbridge was granted U.S. Patent 541,409 for the automatic gallows used in the prison, also known as the upright jerker. The upright jerker was never very efficient at breaking the condemned's neck and was withdrawn from use by the 1930s.

In 1960, nearly 400 prisoners staged a riot that required the assistance of 100 State Police troopers and a company of National Guard riflemen to quell.[7] Tear gas and fire hoses from local fire departments were used against the prisoners, who were complaining of harsh conditions.

In November 1963 the new State Prison in Somers was opened as a replacement for Wethersfield State Prison.[8] All prisoners from Wethersfield were transferred to Somers and two years later the old prison was demolished.[3] The majority of the prison property was sold to the town of Wethersfield for $1.00 and is currently the site of Cove Park, while the remainder is the site of the headquarters of the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles.[6] The only visible remnant of the prison is a small marker for the former prison cemetery.[5]

Prison Records

Surviving records from the Wethersfield State Prison are maintained by the Connecticut State Library.[3] The Wethersfield prison was never a part of the Connecticut Department of Correction. Demolition of Wethersfield was completed by 1966, a year before the State Prison in Somers was transferred to the new Department of Correction.[1]

Notable Inmates

• Amy Archer-Gilligan Nursing home owner and poisoner, inspiration for the play Arsenic and Old Lace
• Gerald Chapman The "Count of Gramercy Park," Prohibition-era gangster and murderer
• Lydia Sherman Serial Killer The Derby Poisoner
• Joseph "Mad Dog" Taborsky Spree killer, last person executed via electric chair in Connecticut

References

1. Connecticut State Library, State Prison - State Agency, Connecticut State Library, 1999, http://www.ctstatelibrary.org/agencies/stateprison.htm, accessed on 27 October 2013
2. Marlene Clark, "A Prison Where 73 Inmates Were Executed", The Hartford Courant (Hartford, CT) 13 February 2008, accessed on 27 October 2013
3. Connecticut State Library, Wethersfield Prison Records, Connecticut State Library, 1999, http://www.cslib.org/wethers.asp, accessed on 27 October 2013
4. Christopher Hoffman, "Historical Exhibit Tells Tale Of Wethersfield Prison, And Its Inmates", The Hartford Courant (Hartford, CT) 19 July 2013, accessed on 27 October 2013
5. Connecticut Humanities, Wethersfield Prison Blues, ConnecticutHistory.org, 2013, http://connecticuthistory.org/wethersfield-prison-blues/ accessed on 6 November 2013
6. Erica Schmitt, "Escapes, executions in focus at tour of former prison", The New Britain Herald (New Britain, CT) 26 September 2013, accessed on 27 October 2013
7. "400 Convicts Stage Riot At State Prison; Police Hurl Tear Gas, Enter With Guns", The Hartford Courant (Hartford, CT) 7 January 1960, accessed on 5 November 2013
8. Department of Correction, State of Connecticut, Osborn Correctional Institution, Department of Correction, 2013, http://www.ct.gov/doc/cwp/view.asp?a=1499&q=265440, accessed on 6 November 2013