Auburn Correctional Facility

History

William Brittin was hired to oversee the building of the facility, and, upon its opening, became the warden. Its architecture resembled that of the first New York state prison, Greenwich Village's Newgate, with large rooms housing 8–12 inmates instead of singular cells. By 1817, the main building and the south wing were complete and ready to accept prisoners. These early prisoners were put to work finishing the construction of the remaining sections of the building.

Eventually, Captain Elam Lynds, a veteran from the War of 1812, was hired as principle keeper at Auburn. While Lynds was well liked by prison authorities, prisoners objected to his strict military-style rule. Discontent grew to such an extent that, in 1818, the inmates rioted and the military had to be called in to quell the rebellion. This riot led to new state legislation, enacted in 1819, that, ironically, authorized much harsher treatment of prisoners, including flogging. In addition, the legislation called for the construction of a north wing at Auburn to be composed of small cells to be used for solitary confinement. The government then appointed three men to run Auburn: William Brittin, the agent and keeper of Auburn; John Cray, the overseer of discipline and police; and Elam Lynds, the head of finances. While all three men agreed that the prison should be self-supporting, their philosophies of punishment varied greatly, which led to conflicts among them. By 1821, Brittin became ill and left Auburn. Conflicts led Cray to resign, thus leaving Lynds as the sole agent and keeper of the prison.

Around this time, New York State was developing a new plan for the organization of prisons based on a philosophy of solitary confinement and silence, using the Pennsylvania prison model. The legislature decided that prisoners would be separated into three classes with the most troubling offenders placed in solitary confinement. By the end of December 1821, some of the solitary cells in the north wing of Auburn were complete and 80 prisoners were moved in. The cells were 3 feet wide and 7 feet long. Prisoners were kept in complete isolation and were not permitted to work or speak. Their only distraction was a Bible. Within one year's time, 5 of these men had died and over 40 were declared mentally ill.

The Rise of the Silent Congregate System

After the year's experiment with solitary confinement, there was a general consensus that this type of imprisonment did not work. New programs were created by New York State that allowed prisoners to work together during the day and to be confined in isolation at night. The system was based on the belief that through isolation, quiet reflection, and hard work, prisoners could reform. Silence was required so that prisoners could not exchange criminal ideas.

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