History of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Part 18

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868- ed; John, J. J., 1829-
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1424

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last summer for keeping a regular jail, even after I had been at considerable expense in fitting up this magazine, under which there is a small but complete dungeon. I am sorry to inform you that he has given our present measures the most obstinate resist- ance in his power, and impeded us with every embarrassment in the compass of his invention. We know nothing of the footing on which Captain Hunter has possession of these buildings, and only beg that the county may be accommodated with this old maga- zine, with the addition proposed to be made to it, and with the house in which I now live, to hold our courts in. I have repaired the house in which I now live, but expect to have an house ready to remove to in Sunbury before our November court. As the present repairs are done entirely by subscription, you will readily guess that Captain Hunter is not among the number of subscribers. As there are many pieces of old iron, etc., which formerly belonged to the fort, not of any use at present, the trustees pro- pose using any of them which can be converted to any advantage for grates, etc. for our temporary gaol, unless they receive contrary directions from Philadelphia .*

James Tilghman was then secretary of the land office and a member of the Executive Council. As there is no record of the request of the trustees having been denied, it is presumed that the magazine, with the "small but complete dungeon " under it, were accordingly fitted up, thus removing from the newly formed county the " scandal" of being "without any place of confinement or punishment for villains." Of this first public prison in Northumberland county only the dungeon remains. The magazine, with whatever additions the trustees may have made to it, has entirely disap- peared. By whom and in what amounts the funds requisite for this object were contributed can not now be ascertained. In 1791 John Lowdon was paid the sum of six pounds by the commissioners "in full for money advanced by him for enlarging the jail, etc., in Fort Augusta in the year 1773," from which it would seem probable that this was a loan rather than a subscription.

The second county prison was built by Robert McBride, presumably upon lot No. 41 or No. 42, on the north side of Market street above Fourth; on a map of the town plot showing the original lot owners it is stated that these lots were returned under date of September 7 and 13, respectively, 1774, so that it is not probable the jail thereon, if built there, was erected prior to that year. All that is definitely known concerning this jail is con- tained in the following document, the original of which is still preserved in the county archives :-

To the Worshipful the Justices of Northumberland County in Court of Quarter Sessions met for said County at Sunbury on Tuesday, November 28, 1775,-

The petition of Robert McBride, of Sunbury aforesaid, humbly sheweth: That your petitioner, in compliance with the desire of some of the magistrates of said county, erected a house which he appropriated to a prison for the use of the county, which house was to have been finished in such a manner as to serve for a temporary gaol; that your petitioner has been active in the discharge of the duty of a gaoler; notwithstanding, several have made their escape from said prison, owing to the insuf- ficiency of the prison house. Your petitioner, being young in the office of gaoler,

*Pennsylvania Archives, Vol. IV. pp. 462-463.

EngªtyPGK "un NY

StephenBittenbanden

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prays if he is longer continued therein your Worships will occasion the house to be strengthened, the fees for debtors and criminals to be adjusted, and also the allowance to be made for the sustenance of poor debtors and criminals, their fuel, etc. And your petitioner will, etc.

ROBERT MCBRIDE.

Indorsed: November sessions, 1775. Petition of Robert McBride respecting the. gaol he built. Robert McBride's petition. To be read. This petition referred to. the commissioners .- Per curiam.

By the act providing for the organization of the county its commission- ers were authorized to levy a tax not exceeding one thousand pounds, for the- erection of public buildings; but the resources of the county were found utterly inadequate to meet the demands such an expenditure would have entailed, and in 1774 the Assembly generously re-enforced local exertions. with an appropriation of eight hundred pounds. This imparted immediate vitality to the enterprise; harmony was restored among the trustees, who united in selecting lot No. 13, at the corner of Market street and Center alley, and transmitted to the Council the result of their deliberations. The approval of the Proprietary was expressed in the following letter :-

Philadelphia, September 6, 1774.

GENTLEMEN: I do hereby approve of the lot No. 13 which you have fixed upon for the purpose of building a public gaol in the town of Sunbury. I am, gentlemen, Your very humble servant,

JOHN PENN.

To Samuel Hunter, Robert Moodie, William Maclay, Esquires, three of the trustees for erecting the public buildings in the county of Northumberland .*

Building operations were not, however, immediately begun, and at Novem- ber sessions of the following year (1775) the grand jury reported " having care- fully examined the gaol," and presented the same "as unfit to detain pris- oners in its present state." This evidently refers to the magazine and the dungeon beneath it. This presentment probably spurred the trustees to renewed activity, and 1776 is generally assigned as the year in which the jail was completed. Hunter, Maclay, and Moodie seem to have been charged with the responsibility of the undertaking, as is clearly shown by their orders upon the treasurer in payment for work done and materials furnished. From these orders it has been ascertained that the stone was quarried by James Chisnall; the iron was furnished by John Harris, Sr., of Harris's Ferry, the

* This important document appears to have been misplaced, and the title of the commissioners to the property received but little attention until its sale became probable. On the 20th of May, 1799, before Thomas Mckean, chief justice of the State, John Simpson stated under oath that he was famil- iar with the chirography of John Penn, and verily believed the name attached to the letter given above to be his signature; it was thereupon recorded in Deed Book K, p. 402. February 14, 1803, John Penn and Richard Penn, through John R. Coates, their attorney, executed a conveyance for the lot in question to Flavel Roan, David Taggart, and Solomon Markley, county commissioners, for the nominal consideration of one dollar .- Recorded in Deed Book M, p. 263. By act of April 1, 1803, the commissioners were authorized to sell this lot; it was exposed at public sale at the court house in Sunbury on the 9th of March, 1807, and purchased by Thomas Robins, to whom a deed was executed by Henry Vanderslice, Flavel Roan, and James Longhead, April 22, 1813, the consideration being eight hundred dollars .- Recorded in Deed Book S., p. 128. Thus the lot passed out of possession of the county, and from that date it has experienced a number of changes in ownership.

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lime, by John Lee, the hinges, rivets, etc., by Frederick Weyman; John Buyers and John Maclay were employed as carpenters, William Atkinson as blacksmith, Henry Crawford and Robert Lenet as masons, and Joseph Mc- Carrell, Zachariah Robins, and Conrad Platner, to haul the various materials, etc. This building stands at the corner of Market street and Center alley, and is one of the historic landmarks of the Susquehanna valley. The wall aligned with the street is built of brick; that adjoining the alley, of stone. From the immense thickness of the walls throughout it is evident that the projectors endeavored to make their work substantial and enduring. That they succeeded is amply attested by the present condition of the structure.

For a time the jail thus erected was sufficient for all reasonable require- ments, and was probably creditable to the county at that period. But with increasing population at the close of the Revolution better facilities were demanded; and at May sessions, 1783, the following report was made by the grand jury :-

We, the grand inquest for the body of the county of Northumberland, .... having duly examined the jail of the said county in the town of Sunbury at May term, 1783, are unanimously of opinion that the said jail ought to be condemned as not being suf- ficient for the purposes it was built for, and do agree that our foreman shall sign the same.

May 29, 1783.

JAMES CRAWFORD, Foreman.

In November, 1788, the jail and jail yard were presented by the grand jury as "insufficient to detain prisoners confined therein." It is probable that additional security was provided in compliance with these presentments; at all events, there is no record of any movement for the erection of a new prison until some years later. Various improvements were made in the intervening period, however, among the most important of which was the construction of a palisade around the yard in 1788.

It is probable the largest number of persons ever incarcerated here at one time was thirty-six; an account for that number of prisoners from Wyoming was rendered to the commissioners under date of August 30, 1784. Two prisoners-Edward Jones and William Armstrong-were taken from this jail to expiate the crime of murder; the former was hung by Martin With ington, the latter by Flavel Roan. In the case of Jones the expense was five pounds, fifteen shillings, six pence; in that of Armstrong, twenty-four dollars, eighty cents. Withington received payment, January 6, 1796, and Roan, January 27, 1797. These were the only judicial executions in the early history of the county.

The agitation for the building of a court house naturally extended to the erection of a new jail; and as soon as the county offices were well advanced to completion, the jail received the attention of the authorities. On the 10th of March, 1801, the commissioners-John Metzgar, John Frick, and Abraham Mckinney-met with John Weitzel, William Gray, and Alexander Hunter,

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trustees for the building of the court house, and definitely determined upon the erection of a new jail. An agreement was entered into with Frederick and Matthias Hawger to furnish two thousand bushels of lime; with Zacha- riah Robins, for five hundred perches of stone; with George Seitz, to exe- cute the mason work; with Andrew Grove and Jacob Durst, for all the smith work, large and small, at ten cents per pound; and with John Frick, to superintend the work and exercise an oversight over the materials, etc., at a reasonable percentage. Subsequently James and Michael Collins were em- ployed as plasterers, and Jacob Prisinger as carpenter; John Young fur- nished bricks, and Henry Bardshare lumber; the well was dug by John Epley, and William Hoffman constructed a pump for it; Henry Zimmerman built the stable. April 27, 1801, Evan R. Evans executed a conveyance for lots No. 149 and 150 on the plan of Sunbury, upon which the jail was then being built, the consideration being four hundred fifty dollars .* The grounds thus secured extend from Arch street to Center alley, fronting on Second street.

Regarding the completion of the structure the following minute appears in the records of the court of quarter sessions under date of August, 1802 :-

Information being made to the court that the new gaol is finished and in such a condition that the prisoners confined in the old gaol may be removed thereto with safety; whereupon the court order and direct the sheriff of Northumberland county to remove the prisoners aforesaid out of the old gaol into the new gaol.

The settlement of the accounts of John Frick was effected through the intervention of arbitrators; their report was as follows :--

We, the subscribers, by mutual consent chosen by the commissioners of the county of Northumberland for the time being of the one part, and John Frick of the other part, (who was superintendent for building the new gaol in the borough of Sunbury,) for the purpose of adjusting the accounts of the said John Frick with the county of Northumberland aforesaid with respect to the superintendence aforesaid, do report: that we have examined the accounts of the said John Frick and do find them regular and just in our opinion, and do hereby conceive that the said John Frick should have for his services aforesaid at the rate of six per cent. on the moneys by him paid over to the different workmen engaged at the building of the said gaol.

Given under our hands this 4th day of November, 1802.

THOMAS GRANT, SIMON SNYDER, JR., JOHN HAYS.

This jail was a stone structure, fronting on Second street and situated somewhat nearer Mulberry alley than Arch street. Attached on the north side and communicating with it was the sheriff's residence, a brick building two stories in height with frame addition. The jail was also two stories high. It was entered from Second street by a narrow vestibule, on the south side of which was the sheriff's office. The vestibule terminated at a wrought iron

*Lot No. 149 was originally patented to Philip Bobbenmeyer, June 13, 1774; lot No. 150, to John Lukens, October 26, 1776. Both subsequently came into possession of Joseph Jacob Wallis; by par- tition of his estate they were apportioned to Evan R. Evans and Grace his wife (nee Wallis), by whom they were transferred to John Metzgar, John Frick, and Abraham Mckinney, April 27, 1801.

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door, popularly known as the "Ten of Diamonds," which was fastened on the outside by a chain and hook and also by a lock and key. This was the entrance to the prison proper. On the interior a passage led to the rear of the building, where a door opened to the yard. On either side of this pass- age was a room, and a stairway led to the upper story; there there were four rooms, occupying the entire floor, and making six apartments altogether. There was also a dungeon under the northwest corner. Throughout the building were rings in the floors at various places, and to these refractory criminals were frequently chained. Prisoners committed for minor offenses were given the liberty of the yard, which was also occasionally used as a ball ground by the denizens of the borough. This inclosure was entered from Second street by a gate large enough to admit a horse and wagon. It was partly bounded on the north and east by the jail, and elsewhere by a stone wall, upon which a brick addition was built after several informal jail deliv- eries had demonstrated that its original height was insufficient. The stable, a frame structure, stood at the corner of Second and Arch streets.

There is reason to think that the jail, like the court house, was practically unfurnished for some years. This is evident from the following presentment of the grand jury at August sessions, 1813 :-

The grand inquest of the county aforesaid present to the court that in compliance with the request of the court they have viewed the jail and the state of the prisoners, and find the rooms in the most cleanly state, but that there are no beds, bedsteads, or blankets for the use of the prisoners; that a grand inquest for August sessions, 1811, and another for January sessions, 1812, had directed to the attention of the court the necessity of providing, for the comfort of the unfortunate people within the prison walls, two stoves and six blankets. It appears that these salutary recommendations have been acted upon in no other manner than to be entered on the records, where they stand as memorials of the attention of the grand jury to the necessities of the unfortu- nate, and of the neglect of those whose duty it was to carry them into effect. The preseut grand jury therefore recommend that the court will be pleased to direct the present commissioners to provide immediately for the use of the prison two stoves, six bed- steads, suitable canvas to hold chaff for beds, twelve blankets, and six rugs. The grand jury further take the liberty to recommend that the court will be pleased to direct an inventory of the said articles to be kept in the jail, so that on the re-visitation of every succeeding grand jury they may see that the articles are kept in good order and remain in their proper places for the use of the prisou.

LEONARD RUPERT,

Foreman.

This plain and unequivocal arraignment of the commissioners had the de- sired result, as shown by the reports of succeeding grand juries. That the ordinary comforts of life should have been withheld from the inmates of the prison to the extent stated in the foregoing presentment seems almost incredi- ble, but the era of prison reform had not yet begun and it is not probable any considerable number of persons were ever confined in the county jail at that date.

It has been stated that the grounds occupied by the jail property were

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purchased from Evan R. Evans in 1801. It appears, however, that there was some defect in the title, and in August, 1819, in an action brought by Joseph Wallis for the use of George Grant, acting executor of Thomas Grant, deceased, against Samuel Hunter Scott, administrator of the estate of Grace Evans, late Grace Wallis, deceased, for the recovery of a debt of six hundred fifteen dollars, forty-six cents, the jail was levied upon by the sheriff. The commissioners consulted Charles Hall, their attorney, who gave as his opinion "that in a court of equity the commissioners might hold out against the claim; but in a jury trial the jury might be imposed upon, and we would lose it and pay the costs." This undecided expression from Mr. Hall divided the opinions of the board. John G. Youngman was willing the jail should be sold by the sheriff and bought for the proper use of the county, but Daniel R. Bright and John Miller, his colleagues, were in favor of resisting the levy. When the jail was exposed at public sale by the sheriff, however, they had become less inclined to risk the uncertain issue of protracted litigation, and Mr. Youngman became the purchaser at his bid of seven hundred one dollars, fifty cents, January 19, 1820 .* The extraordinary nature of this proceed- ing-the exposure of a county jail at sheriff's sale excited much interest at the time. It is doubtful whether the history of the State furnishes a pre- cedent or a parallel.

Although usually occupied, for there has never been a period in the his- tory of the county when the agencies that produce crime were not more or less active, the jail was occasionally empty so far as prisoners were concerned. An instance of this nature occurred in 1846, as shown from the following action of the grand jury at August sessions in that year :-

Resolved, That the grand inquest of this county are well pleased to find that under the influence of the present tariff of '42 we have found the jail entirely empty.

S. JOHN, Foreman.

At August sessions, 1848, the grand jury reported the jail "without any inmates in the shape of prisoners except two bears in the back yard, which they recommend to be moved at the expiration of the present sheriff, or

*The following abstract of these proceedings occurs in Sheriff's Deed Book A, p. 307: Be it remembered that on the 28th day of January, A. D. 1820, William Shannon, Esquire, high sheriff of Northumberland county, came into court and produced to the court a deed poll from him to John Miller, John G. Youngman, and Daniel R. Bright, commissioners of the county aforesaid, dated the 27tlı day of January, A. D. 1820, for the jail of the county of Northumberland and the lot upon whichi the same is erected, seized and taken in execution as the property of Grace Evans, late Grace Wallis, deceased, by virtue of a certain writ of fieri facias issued out of the court of common pleas of the county of Northumberland, tested at Sunbury the 28th day of August, A. D. 1819, at the suit of Joseph Wallis for the use of George Grant, and by virtue of a certain other writ of venditioni exponas issued of the same court bearing date at Sunbury the 27th day of November, A. D. 1819; exposed the prem- ises aforesaid to sale on the 17th day of January, 1820, and sold the same by adjournment on Wednes- day, the 19th day of January, in the year last aforesaid, to John Miller, John G. Youngman, and Dan- iel R. Bright, commissioners of Northumberland county aforesaid, to the only proper use and behoof of the aforesaid commissioners and their successors in office of the county aforesaid, for such public purposes and uses as they or their successors shall think fit, for the sum of seven hundred one dollars and fifty cents.

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chained." It would be interesting to know what relation the tariff legisla- tion of the period sustained to this state of affairs.

The project for the erection of the present jail first assumed definite pro- portions in the presentment of the grand jury at November sessions, 1875, from which the following with reference to the old prison is an extract :-

It was a creditable structure to our grandfathers, who in their poverty built it, but its usefulness has ceased, and it should give place to another. We deem it unsuitable in arrangement, insufficient in capacity, and unfit in other respects for the proper restraint and treatment of prisoners .. . We believe that the prisoners who are not confirmed and hardened criminals should be treated with a view to their reformation and reclamation to the path of virtue, and that they ought not to be thrown into com- panionship with abandoned criminals. We therefore recommend the erection of a new jail, suitable for the separate accommodation of prisoners.

In January, 1876, the grand jury characterized it as "the worst con- structed, illy ventilated, and most insecure jail in Pennsylvania, if not in the United States," and strongly indorsed the recommendation of their immedi- ate predecessors. In this the grand jury at March sessions concurred, and the matter was thus brought to the official cognizance of the commissioners. Architects were invited to submit plans and specifications, and on the 28th of March, 1876, those of C. S. Wetzel were adopted. The financial responsi- bilities of the undertaking were next considered, and on the 1st of May the style of county bonds to be issued to cover the expenditure was decided upon. Proposals for the erection of the jail were advertised for, receivable until May 16, 1876; they were opened, May 22, 1876, and the contract was awarded to Ira T. Clement at his bid of ninety-one thousand six hundred thirty-six dol- lars. The old jail building was also sold to Mr. Clement, for the sum of three hundred eighty dollars, on the 22d of May. On the 29th of the same month the persons confined in the prison, twelve in number, were removed to the jail of Lycoming county at Williamsport, thenceforth the place of incarceration for criminals from this county until the completion of the present jail, in which the first occupant was placed on the 7th of August, 1877.

The present county prison occupies the lots purchased in 1801. The main building fronts on Second street at the center of the lot; it is three stories high, and surmounted by a tower in the center. The main entrance opens into a vestibule, from which a hallway extends to the prison proper, crossed at the center of the main building by a transverse corridor, at either end of which stairways ascend to the second story. Here there is a large room for the accommodation of jurors, and in the third story are two large tanks from which the water supply of the entire establishment is distributed. The warden's office is situated on the first floor, and several rooms are used for storage purposes; except as otherwise indicated, the main building furnishes accommodations for the warden and his family. From the hallway extend- ing from the vestibule on the first floor two passages diverge, leading to the

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wings in which prisoners are confined. These are distinguished as the north and west or right and left corridors, respectively. Each has an extreme length of nearly one hundred feet. The cells are arranged in two tiers, there being twenty-three in each tier; iron stairways, and an iron platform extend- ing around the interior, furnish access to the second tier. Light is admitted from skylights, and into each cell by an aperture in the exterior wall. The west corridor is used for penitentiary purposes, and here is conducted the industrial* feature of the institution. Carpets are the principal product of this department; knit goods are also made, and the manufacture of paper bags also received some attention at one time. A partition divides the right corridor, part of which is appropriated exclusively for female prisoners. There is a basement under the entire building, part of which is utilized for culinary purposes; that under the prison corridors is divided into cells, not yet finished for occupancy, however, so that the present capacity of the jail is capable of being increased one half. A steam-heating plant provides for the requirements of the institution in this respect. The inclosure is sur- rounded by a substantial stone wall twenty-three feet high, and is entered by a wagon gate from Mulberry alley. A marble block in the center of the tower is inscribed with the names of J. G. Durham, D. S. Reitz, H. Henrie, and P. Hile, commissioners; C. S. Wetzel, architect, and Ira T. Clement, contractor; and the date, 1876.

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History of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Part 18

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868- ed; John, J. J., 1829- Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Chicago, Brown, Runk Number of Pages: 1424

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868- ed; John, J. J., 1829-
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1424