Early 19th Century Upstate New York Food and Labor Costs
Early nineteenth-century reports of New York State prison inspectors include information on labor and provisioning costs for prisons.
Notes
1846 New York State Fair Attracted Many Spectators to Auburn Prison
In September, 1846, the month of the New York State Fair at Auburn, spectators at Auburn Prison amounted to 42% of the year’s total.
Visitors to Prisons in Mid-Nineteenth-Century New York
Visitors to prisons were both spectators seeking to tour a prison and family and friends seeking to visit in prison their friend or relative.
Accounting for Spectator Revenue at NY State Prisons
In the mid-19th century, Auburn Prison carefully accounted for its spectator revenue. Discretionary use of this revenue prompted less thorough accounting.
19th-century Views on Causes and Effects of Prisoners Masturbating
While penal officials were deeply concerned about prisoners’ masturbating, those concerns didn’t prompt them to change prison communication policies.