The official opening of the new County Jail in Valhalla in 1932 triggered the closing of Westchester's 1856 Jail in White Plains, which was then used for the storage of County government records until 1957. On July 1, 1957 demolition began on Westchester County's 1856 Jail. Above: John H. Hill, the longest- serving and last Warden of the 1856 County Jail. Appointed in 1903 and retired after 28 years of service on Jan. 1, 1932 at age 74. That same year, the old jail closed. Photograph courtesy of Westchester Dept. of Public Safety.. It retains and reserves all rights: Click image for its web site. Despite some initial construction setbacks and operational limitations, this building served the County government well in one capacity or another for 100 years, before modern penology began to emerge, promoting inmate programming and support services within a safe and secure correctional setting. The County of Westchester constructed a separate Women's Correctional Unit in 1967, created a Department of Correction headed by an appointed Commissioner in 1969, built a new 528-cell pre-trial jail facility in 1992 that was physically connected to the 1932 Jail, demolished its 1916 Penitentiary in 2002, and opened a 280-bed replacement County Penitentiary in 2004. The correctional center in Valhalla, re-named to honor Commissioner Norwood E. Jackson following his untimely death in 1995, now has a capacity to hold 1,600 pre-trial inmates and short-term sentenced prisoners. Jackson was the fourth Commissioner of Correction in Westchester County. Preceding him were Above: The first Westchester County Penitentiary (1916 - 2002) Built in 1916, the first Westchester County Penitentiary consisted of 4 cellblocks holding 89 prisoners each. It was located on the Grasslands Reservation in Eastview. Alfred Hopkins of NYC was hired as the architect and the Oscawana Building Company was hired as general contractor by the Westchester County Building Commission. This institution functioned for 86 years until it was demolished in 2002 and replaced at a cost of $59.5 million with a new 280-bed County Penitentiary that opened in 2004. Photograph courtesy of Westchester County Department of Public Works. It retains and reserves all rights: Click image for its web site. J. Roberts Wright (1969-1974), a past president of the American Correctional Association who was serving as Warden of the County Penitentiary before his appointment; Albert D. Gray (1974-1983), a former NJ State trooper and warden at Rahway State Prison; and John J. Maffucci (1983-1986), a former parole officer and member of the NY State Parole Board. Following Commissioner Jackson's untimely death in 1995, Deputy Commissioner Luke J. Smith served as Acting Commissioner (1995-1996). He was succeeded by Joseph M. Stancari (1996-1997), who started his career as a correction officer and rose to the rank of Chief of Operations before his appointment; and Rocco A. Pozzi (1998-present), the Probation Commissioner for Westchester County since 1989 and a past president of the American Probation and Parole Association. Above: 2nd Westchester County Jail (1932 - Present) In 1930, Westchester's Board of Supervisors approved the bonding of $850,000 for construction of a new 180-cell county jail in Eastview. Morris & O'Connor on Park Avenue in NYC was hired as architects on the project. Charles Matta was selected as the general contractor for $327,000 with responsibility to oversee 5 sub-contractors for plumbing, heating and ventilation, electrical, elevator, and cell work. A separate contract in the amount of $15,559. was awarded to Richard Burke to construct a tunnel that would physically connect the new Jail to the County Penitentiary . The new maximum-security Westchester County Jail opened in 1932 with an operating budget of $75,425. The first Warden of the 1932 Jail was George C. Casey. Photograph courtesy of Westchester County Department of Public Works. It retains and reserves all rights: Click image for its web site. Today, the jail system in Westchester County is a $100 million-dollar operation with 900 uniformed and civilian employees. It is widely acknowledged for its innovative leadership in many significant areas because the Department of Correction: meets all mandated standards of the N.Y. State Commission of Correction, operates a GED, adult education, and vocational ed program under the auspices of BOCES, offers a self-help drug treatment program administered by St. John's Riverside Hospital, runs a pre-service Correction Academy that earns college credits for new correction officers, offers a credit card bail alternative for eligible defendants to help reduce unnecessary pre-trial detention, alerts crime victims to the discharge or transfer of inmates in custody, manages a psychiatric unit for mentally ill inmates that is licensed by the N.Y. State Office of Mental Hygiene, Above: Third Westchester County Jail (1992-Present) A voter referendum in 1987 approved the construction of the third Westchester County Jail at a cost of $68 million dollars. The project was dictated by serious levels of jail overcrowding and a Federal Court consent decree (issued in 1981) about conditions of confinement in the 1932 Jail. The 528-cell maximum security facility uses a "direct supervision" model of inmate management. The project also included a new Central Booking and Visiting Center for the Department of Correction. The Erosfeld/Urbahn Joint Venture of NYC was hired as architects and Worth Construction, Inc. of Bethel, Ct. functioned as general contractor. This institution was formally dedicated on June 22, 1992, after which the Federal Court consent decree was vacated. The 1992 Jail is physically connected to the 1932 Jail and is located in Valhalla, N.Y. Photograph by Westchester Correction Sergeant Donald Smith, the agency's co-webmaster. They retain and reserve all rights: Click image for web site. operates an Emergency Response Team (ERT) that is nationally-recognized by the American Correctional Association, and provides inmate health care that is fully accredited by the National Commission of Correctional Health Care (NCCHC). Originally built to demonstrate "a proper regard for the unfortunates", the 1856 Jail eventually became the foundation for a 150-year tradition of secure custody, humane treatment, and good correctional practice in the County of Westchester. Winston Churchill said it best: "We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us." [End note #39] The 1856 County Jail was an important milestone in the history of Westchester County because this unique public building - over a long period of time - reflected our changing views about crime and punishment. It also firmly established the mission of corrections as a vital function within a criminal justice system that is still evolving in 21th Century America. <<<=== Previous Navigate using directionals (Next or Previous). Or navigate using Part numbers & titles below: ===>> Next: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

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The New York Correction History Society (NYCHS) presents here text and images from A Proper Regard for the Unfortunates: Origins of the Jail System in Westchester County, N. Y. by NYCHS member Anthony J. Czarnecki, Chief of Staff (ret.), Westchester County Correction Dept. We do so with permission from both the author and the Westchester County Historical Society that published the history as the cover article in the Spring 2006 edition of its Westchester Historian. All rights retained and reserved. The NYCHS webmaster added sepia tint to the grayscale images made available for this presentation. NYCHS acknowledges the help of Westchester Correction Sgt. Donald Smith and Sgt. Fred Anderson.