ALBANY -- The Westchester County Historical Society (WCHS) gave back to New York State a part of its extensive correctional history when it returned state prison records that were created during the second half of the 19th century.
WCHS Executive Director Katie Hite returned the New York Inspectors of State Prisons Record Book, 1858-1865 to Kathleen Roe, Director of Operations of the New York State Archives during a luncheon honoring WCHS volunteers on November 16th.
The Inspectors of State Prisons is a 473-page volume that is a collection of notes from all of the Prison Inspectors of New York State chronicling activities at Sing Sing, Clinton, and Auburn prisons during the Civil War era from 1858-1865. Some of the entries in the book include the suspension and appointment of guards, newspaper articles concerning convict labor for hire, implementation of safety measures, and a general summary of board meeting minutes.
The one-of-a-kind State Inspector of Prisons Record Book was discovered by former Westchester County resident Richard Wiles while attending a yard sale in Pennsylvania. Realizing the historical value of this document, Mr. Wiles purchased the book and then donated it to the Westchester County Historical Society during the past summer.
"We are grateful that both Mr. Wiles and the Westchester County Historical Society recognized the importance of reuniting this document with all other documentation on the state’s corrections system that is housed at the State Archives," said Roe.
County Executive Andrew J. Spano commented that the transfer illustrates the excellent cooperation that exists between state and local governments and historical agencies in Westchester.
The State Archives is a program of the State Education Department. At its facility in the Cultural Education Center in Albany, the Archives cares for more than 200 million archival records of New York State government dating from the 1630s to the present. Through its nine regional offices and its support of the Documentary Heritage Program, the State Archives also provides services to help 4,300 local governments and 3,000-community organizations care for their records.
The Westchester County Historical Society is one of the oldest societies in America and the only organization that protects and promotes the countywide history of Westchester.