New York Correction History Society: County Links


For Links to state-related sites.

For Links to NYC-related sites.

  • The New York Correction History Society web site has been designated a recipient of the Internet Correctional Resource Award.

Links to county-related sites

‡ = some jail historical information.

‡ ‡ = extensive jail historical informatio


Yates ‡‡
Wyoming
Westchester
Wayne ‡‡
Warren
Ulster
Tompkins
Tioga
Sullivan
Suffolk ‡‡
Steuben
Seneca
Schuyler
Schoharie ‡‡
Schenectady ‡‡
Saratoga
St. Lawrence ‡‡
Rockland
Rensselaer
Putnam
Otsego
Oswego
Orleans
Orange
Ontario ‡‡
Onondaga
Oneida ‡‡
Niagara ‡‡
Montgomery
Monroe ‡‡
Madison
Livingston
Lewis
Jefferson
Herkimer
Greene
Genesee
Fulton ‡‡
Franklin
Essex ‡‡
Erie ‡‡
Dutchess
Delaware
Cortland
Clinton ‡‡
Chenango
Chemung
Chautauqua
Cayuga
Cattaraugus
Broome
Allegany
Albany

‡ = some jail historical information.

‡ ‡ = extensive jail historical informatio


Yates ‡‡
Wyoming
Westchester
Wayne ‡‡
Warren
Ulster
Tompkins
Tioga
Sullivan
Suffolk ‡‡
Steuben
Seneca
Schuyler
Schoharie ‡‡
Schenectady ‡‡
Saratoga
St. Lawrence ‡‡
Rockland
Rensselaer
Putnam
Otsego
Oswego
Orleans
Orange
Ontario ‡‡
Onondaga
Oneida ‡‡
Niagara ‡‡
Montgomery
Monroe ‡‡
Madison
Livingston
Lewis
Jefferson
Herkimer
Greene
Genesee
Fulton ‡‡
Franklin
Essex ‡‡
Erie ‡‡
Dutchess
Delaware
Cortland
Clinton ‡‡
Chenango
Chemung
Chautauqua
Cayuga
Cattaraugus
Broome
Allegany
Albany

‡ = some jail historical information.

‡ ‡ = extensive jail historical informatio


Yates ‡‡
Wyoming
Westchester
Wayne ‡‡
Warren
Ulster
Tompkins
Tioga
Sullivan
Suffolk ‡‡
Steuben
Seneca
Schuyler
Schoharie ‡‡
Schenectady ‡‡
Saratoga
St. Lawrence ‡‡
Rockland
Rensselaer
Putnam
Otsego
Oswego
Orleans
Orange
Ontario ‡‡
Onondaga
Oneida ‡‡
Niagara ‡‡
Montgomery
Monroe ‡‡
Madison
Livingston
Lewis
Jefferson
Herkimer
Greene
Genesee
Fulton ‡‡
Franklin
Essex ‡‡
Erie ‡‡
Dutchess
Delaware
Cortland
Clinton ‡‡
Chenango
Chemung
Chautauqua
Cayuga
Cattaraugus
Broome
Allegany
Albany

‡ = some jail historical information.

‡ ‡ = extensive jail historical informatio


Yates ‡‡
Wyoming
Westchester
Wayne ‡‡
Warren
Ulster
Tompkins
Tioga
Sullivan
Suffolk ‡‡
Steuben
Seneca
Schuyler
Schoharie ‡‡
Schenectady ‡‡
Saratoga
St. Lawrence ‡‡
Rockland
Rensselaer
Putnam
Otsego
Oswego
Orleans
Orange
Ontario ‡‡
Onondaga
Oneida ‡‡
Niagara ‡‡
Montgomery
Monroe ‡‡
Madison
Livingston
Lewis
Jefferson
Herkimer
Greene
Genesee
Fulton ‡‡
Franklin
Essex ‡‡
Erie ‡‡
Dutchess
Delaware
Cortland
Clinton ‡‡
Chenango
Chemung
Chautauqua
Cayuga
Cattaraugus
Broome
Allegany
Albany

‡ = some jail historical information.

‡ ‡ = extensive jail historical informatio


Yates ‡‡
Wyoming
Westchester
Wayne ‡‡
Warren
Ulster
Tompkins
Tioga
Sullivan
Suffolk ‡‡
Steuben
Seneca
Schuyler
Schoharie ‡‡
Schenectady ‡‡
Saratoga
St. Lawrence ‡‡
Rockland
Rensselaer
Putnam
Otsego
Oswego
Orleans
Orange
Ontario ‡‡
Onondaga
Oneida ‡‡
Niagara ‡‡
Montgomery
Monroe ‡‡
Madison
Livingston
Lewis
Jefferson
Herkimer
Greene
Genesee
Fulton ‡‡
Franklin
Essex ‡‡
Erie ‡‡
Dutchess
Delaware
Cortland
Clinton ‡‡
Chenango
Chemung
Chautauqua
Cayuga
Cattaraugus
Broome
Allegany
Albany

  • The Albany County Sheriff's Department, established in the 1660s, is one of the oldest sheriff's agencies in the U.S. Among other duties, it operates the Albany County Correctional Facility, the fifth largest county jail in the state.
  • Allegany County Sheriff contact information. In the early 1800s when much of New York was already settled, most of the Allegany County area was a wilderness. Twenty-three state forests cover 46,307 acres. Another 2,050 acres are county forests. Large populations of white-tailed deer, turkey, bear and small game inhabit the forests.
  • Broome County Sheriff contact information.
  • Cattaraugus County Sheriff's Office. The Jail Division is under the command of a Jail Superintendent Captain. He, a Lieutenant, six Sergeants and 49 full and part-time corrections officers run the county's 132-bed jail facility. It has 58 beds in 4 pod areas and 74 conventional cells.

  • Cayuga County Sheriff's Department. Since its inception in the 1800s, the Cayuga County Sheriff's Department has developed into a force of over 100 police, correction and civilian employees.
  • Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office. The Chautauqua County Jail's day-to-day operations are guided by a Warden and a Lieutenant supervising about 65 full and part-time Corrections Officers. The jail, located in Mayville, had in 1998 a total of 3,526 new admissions, an increase of 311 from 1997 and an increase of 1,170 over the last three years. The average daily population for the Jail in 1998 was 233 with the highest daily count being 263 on August 24th. Approximately 75% of the inmates housed in the Chautauqua County Jail are awaiting trial. The maximum length of a sentence an inmate can serve in Chautauqua Jail is two years. The average sentence length is currently 6 months. In July 1998 the NYS Commission of Corrections gave the jail a variance which added 44 beds to its capacity. This raised the jail's total capacity to 252.
  • Chemung County. The web site of the Chemung County Deputy Sheriffs Association, in cooperation with Sheriff Charles D.W. Houper, provides information from the Deputy Sheriffs Association and the Sheriff's Office.
  • Chenango County. Some county sheriff amd jail history appears on the Norwich Police web site.
  • Most of the North Country Criminal Justice History files of former Clinton County District Attorney and now Plattsburgh City Court Judge Penelope D. Clute are now in a special section among NYCHS files on this site with fascinating accounts of notorious old cases and 19th century public executions. The Clinton County sheriff's web page includes mission, hours and contact information.
  • Cortland County. Mission, contact and general information.
  • Delaware County. Tourism-focused site with some government contact information including correction-related.
  • Dutchess County Sheriff and Probation contact information. Wappingers and other Algonquin Federation members called one of their encampments Poughkeepsie, "the reed-covered lodge by the little water place." Dutchess was named after England's future Queen Mary, not after the Dutch, who relinquished claims to the area in 1683. During the Revolutionary War, the Village of Fishkill served as an encampment for General George Washington's troops and, briefly, as the capital of New York State. Poughkeepsie was the state capital in 1788 when the U.S. Constitution was ratified.
  • The Erie County Sheriff's Office. The Erie County Holding Center, a pre-trial maximum security detention facility, is the second largest detention facility in the state outside of New York City. It is capable of housing 680 inmates remanded. United States President Grover Cleveland began his political career as Sheriff of Erie County in 1871. He went on to become Mayor of the City of Buffalo, Governor of the State of New York and President. Excellent presentation of extensive jail historical information by Michael Pliszka. There is also a very moving memorial page honoring those who died in the line of duty.

  • Essex County. On Oct. 6, 1809, Simeon and Lucy Frisbee sold to the Essex County Supervisors for $150 one acre in the Town of Elizabethtown "for the use of a courthouse and goal forever." The first two courthouses both burned down. In 1832 a one-story brick structure was built. Additions were erected in 1843 and in 1885. All trials were held in the 1885 courtroom up to February, 1997 when a new courthouse, built in the colonial design right next to the old complex and jail, opened. The historical 1885 courtroom remained in continued use for County Supervisors' regular and special meetings, among other official functions.
  • Franklin County. Contact information.
  • Fulton County. With formation of Tyron County from Albany in 1772, Johnstown was named the county seat. Construction of a courthouse commenced immediately. Tryon County in 1784 changed its name to Montgomery in honor of Revolutionary War Gen. Richard Montgomery killed attempting to take Canada. The county seat remained Johnstown. This vast county eventually subdivided into other counties with new county seats. New modes and routes of travel eventually isolated Montgomery's old county seat at Johnstown. In 1836 the county seat was moved south to Fonda. In December 1837, the Johnstown courthouse and jail were sold at public auction. But residents in the northern part of the county wished to keep Johnstown as their county seat. In 1838 they formed a new county, named it for steamboater Robert Fulton, restored Johnstown to county seat status, and repurchased the courthouse and jail. Except for 13 months in 1837-8, the courthouse has been in constant use since 1772. Fulton claims the courthouse is oldest in the state and one of the oldest in the nation still in use today. The construction of the jail began at the same as the courthouse and like the courthouse, has served its original purpose since.
  • Genesee County Sheriff's Office. Mission, programs, and contact information.
  • Greene County courthouse draws considerable attention on the web. The county seat is located at Catskill on the Hudson. An act was passed May 26, 1812, allowing the judges to accept a courthouse under construct when it was completed. Courts had previously been held at a school and prisoners confined in Albany County jail. The first courthouse was a wood building. The first Sheriff was John H. Cuyler. According to French's 1860 Historical & Statistical Gazetteer of New York State reported "Some years since, this building was burned, and a new brick edifice was soon after erected in its place. It contains the court and jury rooms, and district attorney and county clerk’s offices. A stone jail was erected in 1804." The county poorhouse was located on a farm of 130 acres in Cairo.
  • Herkimer County. A USGENnet site features French's 1860 Historical & Statistical Gazetteer of New York State recounting that "The county seat is located at the village of Herkimer. The courthouse is a fine brick building fronting Main St., near the center of the village. The jail is a stone building, on the opposite side of the street from the courthouse. . . "
  • Jefferson County Sheriff's Department. Headquartered in Watertown, the Department is the oldest Law enforcement agency in Jefferson County, having been established in 1805. It has one of the newest correctional facilities in the state.
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  • Lewis County Sheriff's Department contact information.
  • Livingston County Sheriff general information. Probation Bureau program description and contact information. The Probation Department has its headquarters at 6 Court St., Geneseo.
  • Madison County Sheriff and Probation contact information under "Departments." Madison, an upstate rural county area of 661 square miles, is located about 20 miles from Syracuse and Utica. The county area became a separate entity March 21, 1806, and was named for President James Madison. It has a population of 69,166. Pratt's Hollow, in the Town of Eaton, is considered the geographic center of the state.
  • The history of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, excellently recounted on this site, begins in 1821 with the appointment of Brockport merchant James Seymour as the first Sheriff. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office - Jail Bureau, currently operates three facilities, a pretrial detention facility house approximately 1,000 inmates in downtown Rochester, a sentenced facility in suburban Brighton, housing 475 sentenced inmates and a regional forensic unit at the Rochester Psychiatric Center. Also visit NYCHS' 8-page web presentation of Blake F. McKelvey's A History of Penal and Correctional Institutions in the Rochester Area.
  • Montgomery County Sheriff contact information. Interest generated by the sesquisentennial of the Old Courthouse and Jail in 1986 contributed to the Montgomery County History and Archives Department becoming one of the largest repositories for historical and genealogical collections in the state. Its home is the Old Courthouse in Fonda (P.O. Box 1500; Zip 12068-1500; Phone 518 853-8186; Fax 518 853-8392). Montgomery County was formed from Albany County in 1772 (as Tryon County), and at that time covered a large part of the state. The name was changed to Montgomery in 1784 in honor of General Richard Montgomery, Revolutionary War hero. Thirty-four counties were formed from the original Tryon-Montgomery County.
  • Niagara County Sheriff's Department. The history of the Niagara County Jails is extensively covered in material posted from the excellent "History of the Niagara County Sheriff's Office" by Christopher J. Carlin, Investigaor NCSD.
  • Oneida County Sheriff's Department -- A Look Back in History. An excellent timeline recounting of Oneida County criminal justice system history researched and compiled by Lt. Tim Conboy. The Oneida County Correctional Facility, also well known as "the Jail," has been in existence for nearly 200 years. Oneida County, located in upstate N.Y., is the home of 3 cities, 26 townships, and 19 villages. The Sheriff's Dept. consists of 3 divisions - Law Enforcement, Civil and Corrections. In 1996, the Jail had a total bed capacity of 383.
  • Onondaga County Correction Department provides an excellent history page with wonderful old photos and interesting text telling the story of its facilites from 1850 to date. Likewise, the Onondago County Sheriff's Office web site features an excellent timeline page with fascinating vintage images. Located in the center of the state, Onondaga is home to the city of Syracuse. The county is situated at the intersection of IS 81 and 90 (NYS Thruway). The NYS Barge Canal System provides boat connection to the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.
  • Ontario County Sheriff's Office. Canandaigua. All functions relating to the Ontario County Jail are under the direct supervision of the Chief Corrections Officer.
  • Also visit NYCHS' 9-page web presentation of Ontario County Jail Histories.

  • Orleans County Sheriff's Department is mandated to operate the County Jail and do civil process. The latter unit processed 1,552 civil papers in 1998. The Orleans County Jail, approved for 81 inmates, is at capacity most of the time. During 1998, it housed 1,513 prisoners, both Orleans prisoners and inmates from other counties, as well as immigration and U.S. Marshal prisoners. It handled 1,567 inmate transports including to courts, institutions, doctors, and dentists. When Tryon County was created in 1772 it covered the western and central part of the state. In 1783, Tyron was renamed Montgomery. In 1789 Ontario County was created from part of Montgomery County. In 1802 Genesee County took over the land west of the Genesee River. Orleans County was created from Genesee County on April 15, 1825. Orleans County is bordered by Lake Ontario, Monroe, Genesee, and Niagara Counties.
  • Orange County Sheriff’s Department has taken a lead role in enhancing security on the county's famed Heritage Trail. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the Orange County Correctional Officers Benevolent Association have their own web sites.
  • Oswego County Sheriff's Office. General information about office operations and services. Included is a history of the continuing investigation into the 1994 Easter Sunday kidnapping of 18-year-old Heidi Marie Allen. French's 1860 Historical & Statistical Gazetteer of New York State reported "the county was divided into two jury districts, [with] the courts being held respectively at Pulaski Village and Oswego City. At the former place a brick building, including a courthouse and jail, was erected in 1820, and at the latter a wood courthouse about the same time. A stone jail was erected in the city in 1850. . ."
  • Otsego County. Some government contact information including correction-related.
  • Putnam County Historian web pages include reference to the fact that "By 1812, the increased population of southern Dutchess County as well as the inconvenient distance to the county seat in Poughkeepsie caused the State Legislature to create the new County of Putnam, which would have its own Board of Supervisors, courthouse and jail."
  • Rensselaer County Sheriff and Probation Department contact information. The county includes the city of Troy.
  • Rockland County Sheriff Office information about its operations, including the jail.
  • Saint Lawrence County Correctional Facility history page provides an excellent and extensive account from when the area became a county March 3, 1802. The first courts were held in an abandoned barracks and the jail was located in an adjacent powder magazine. Thomas J. Davies was the first sheriff.
  • Saratoga County Sheriff's Office. Contact information and data.
  • Schenectady County Sheriff Office and Probation Department contact information. Schenectady County Sheriff veteran Harry C. Buffardi authored The History Of The Office Of Sheriff. He began his 26 years with the Department as a deputy assigned to the county jail. He rose through the ranks and in 1998 was elected Sheriff. A graduate of SUNY Empire State College, with a BS in Criminal Justice Administration, he also holds a masters from Syracuse University in social science. His copyrighted book traces the office of sheriff from its medieval beginnings to the modern day and looks ahead to its future. An NYCHS excerpts presentation of chapters from his book can be accessed on this site.
  • Schoharie County Sheriff's Office. Key addresses and numbers. The Schoharie County Historical Review Spring 2002 issue carries an essay on the county's public buildings history. A year after the 1795 formation of the county, a movement started to erect a courthouse. In 1798 and again in 1801, the state legislature authorized the county to borrow money to start and then complete a stone courthouse and jail. A fire begun by an inmate attempt to escaped destroyed it. The essay recounts details about Schoharie courthouses and jails subsequently built.
  • Schuyler County Sheriff. Contact information. At the south end of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes Region, the county is a community of about 19,000 people.
  • Seneca County Sheriff. General information. Updates on new jail.
  • Steuben County Sheriff. Contact information. About 100,000 people live within the county's borders that encompass about 1600 square miles. The three main population centers are around Bath, Hornell, and Corning. There's an active Old Order Amish community in the south central region. Steuben contains miles of coastline on Keuka Lake, one of the Finger Lakes.
  • Suffolk County Sheriff's Office traces its history back to 1670 when Eden Salsberry became the first to fill that post. The site lists the names of all who served in the position during the nearly 330 years since then. The office's duties include operation of a maximum security facility at Riverhead and a minimum security center in Yaphank.
  • Suffolk County Police Historical Society. P.O. Box 343, Yaphank 11980-434 The web site maintains an "On-line Police Museum" that traces the evolution of policing in Suffolk from the 16th century Sheriff and includes interpretive displays such as the old Riverhead Jail.
  • Sullivan County. Contact information.
  • Tioga County was once home to the Cayugas and Onondagas of the Iroquois confederacy. The Sullivan and Clinton Armies burned the Iroquois villages in August 1779. By 1784, James McMaster, a veteran of the Sullivan and Clinton campaigns, began to cultivate crops and trade with the Native Americans living on the banks of the Susquehanna River. As more settlers arrived, need for law and order arose. James McMaster became Tioga County's first sheriff in 1791. The current sheriff's web site includes a mission statement, news about the county jail, and contact information.

  • Tompkins County Sheriff's Department. Besides a generalized description of sheriff operations, the site includes contact information.
  • The Ulster County Sheriff's office. Headquartered in the City of Kingston and located in the lower Hudson Valley, Ulster County is comprised of 20 towns, 3 villages and 1 city. It encompasses 1,150 square miles with 2,200 miles of roadways, and has 168,000 residents. The Corrections Division maintains a 221 person capacity maximum security detention facility. The original county jail was built in 1818 on Wall Street, Kingston, and presently is the home of the Ulster County Courthouse. The present jail is located on Golden Hill, Kingston.
  • The Warren County Jail is one of four divisions of the Sheriff's Dept. Warren County, a tourist community centered around the Lake George area, encompasses 11 towns, one city and one village. With the exception of the City of Glens Falls and the Town of Bolton, all of these communities have merged their police forces with the county sheriff. The Warren County Jail has a capacity of 70 inmates.
  • The Wayne County Historical Society and Museum has been housed in the county's former jail since 1961. The current county homebase for public safety is the Sheriff's Department and Jail complex, Route 31, Lyons. The facility was renovated and expanded in 1994. The original construction dates to 1961. The expanded facility has been able to house inmates from outside the county, bringing revenue from other counties and the federal government. In 1995, that revenue totaled over $325,000. Department activities includes an Inmate Work Program and security for the Wayne County Hall of Justice. The historic 1854 courthouse adjacent to the new building continues to be used. The Newark Courier - Gazette menu of Lyons history includes articles on Sheriff Jerry Collins, the Great Train Robbery and the courthouse. Scores of entries about convicts sentenced to Auburn Prison appear in the Criminal Evidence & Arrest Notes of Sheriff Jerry Collins web page on the excellent Wayne County GenWeb site. The Wayne County Sheriff's web page includes general contact information. The county is bordered by the Finger Lakes region, the Genesee region, and Lake Ontario. For the entire width of the county, the Erie Canal is dotted with parks and hiking trails.
  • Westchester County Department of Correction. The Department, situated on the Valhalla Campus that encompasses nearly 1/2 square mile with more than 700,000 square feet of building space, is comprised of four divisions: Administration, Jail, Penitentiary and Women's Unit. The Department was formed on Jan. 1, 1969, from units of the former Sheriff's Department and the Department of Social Services and placed under a central administration with a Commissioner of Correction appointed by the County Executive. The current Correction Commissioner is also the Westchester County Probation Commissioner. That agency's main office is in White Plains.
  • Wyoming County Sheriff's Department. Detailed information on office organization and contact numbers.
  • Yates County Courthouse still stands in its maple-shaded Penn Yan park, looking much as it did when it was built in 1835. It is the second Courthouse, or third if you count Asa Cole's tavern at the corner of what is now Main Street and North Avenue. The sessions of the court were held at Cole's until a Courthouse was completed in 1825. But that burned down in 1834 and the present Courthouse was built on the same site. Behind it, facing Liberty Street, was the jail. The first Courthouse had included a jail.

To State Commission of Correction County Sheriffs' contact information.
To State Commission of Correction County jail administrators' contact information.

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