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The text and images are presented here by permission of the author and the Westchester County Historical Society that published them as the cover article, "A Proper Regard for the Unfortunates," in the Spring 2006 edition of its Westchester Historian. All rights retained and reserved. |
During our early history, persons accused of crimes in Westchester County were confined in holding cells that were built into the 1st County Court House in the Town of Westchester, which is now eastern Bronx County (1720-1758), the 2nd County Court House in White Plains (1759-1775), and both the 3rd and 4th County Court Houses that were built in 1787 in Bedford and White Plains.
This early plan to handle prisoners in a Court setting, not in a separate jail facility, proved to be unworkable.
The origins of our present-day jail system can be traced to three important events in the 1850s that converged to make a strong case for building the first County Jail in Westchester County: On June 8, 1853, the grand jury of the Westchester County Court of Oyer and Terminer (the court "to hear and determine" criminal cases for the N. Y. State Supreme Court) issued a critical report on the holding cells for prisoners:
"The Grand Jury of the County of Westchester in closing their labors at the present term of the Court of Oyer and Terminer desire to call the attention of the Court to the condition of the common jail of said county which the Jury have visited and examined. "The Jail is kept as cleanly and healthful condition, as is practicable in case of a jail, whose cells are subterranean; but the Jury are of opinion that the situation of the jail in the basement of the Court House is improper and prejudicial to the health of persons confined therein; and that from the location and construction of the cells it is difficult, if not impossible to ventilate them properly, especially in the winter." [End note #1] On November 13, 1854 the Westchester County Board of Supervisors convened its annual meeting at the old County Court House on South Broadway in White Plains (where the State Armory now stands).
The meeting was chaired by Board Chairman Joseph T. Carpenter of New Castle, who functioned as the legal authority for the County government, before the emergence of an elected County Executive in the 1930s,
Until 1959, the elected Town Supervisors served a dual legislative role as voting members of the Westchester County Board of Supervisors.
In 1854, a special committee of the Board of Supervisors - headed by Robert Cochran of White Plains - presented a report and resolution on the state of the existing County buildings:
". . . the present condition of the Court House, Jail, County Clerk's and Surrogate's offices call[s] for immediate measures. . .
"Public edifices are the true indications of a people's spirit and enterprise and, in the opinion of your committee, the energetic inhabitants of this county will be happy to see the present erections give way to a substantial and commodious edifice more worthy of one of the foremost counties in the State. " [End note #2]
Serving with Mr. Cochran on the special building committee were: Abraham Hatfield, William Marshall Jr., Daniel Hunt, and William G. Ackerman.
In their report, they cited an 1849 state law that gave the Board of Supervisors the power to change the location of public buildings after observing matters of public notice and when the distance shall not exceed one mile. " [End note #3]
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