Finding aid for the Cleveland Workhouse and House of Refuge and Correction Records, Series II


Repository: Western Reserve Historical Society
Creator: Cleveland Workhouse and House of Refuge and Correction
Title: Cleveland Workhouse and House of Refuge and Correction Records, Series II
Dates: 1930
Extent: 0.40 linear feet (1 container)
Abstract: The Cleveland Workhouse was a Cleveland, Ohio, correctional institution for petty offenders. It was established in 1871 and included facilities for adults (Workhouse) and for juveniles (House of Refuge and Correction). By 1907 it moved to a farm colony in the suburb of Warrensville and became known as the Warrensville House of Correction of the City of Cleveland. The collection consists of one prisoner register.
MS Number MS 4666
Location: closed stacks
Language: The records are in English

History of the Cleveland Workhouse and House of Refuge and Correction

The Cleveland Workhouse was formally established as a separate institution in January 1871, in Cleveland, Ohio. The building did not open until March of that year due to construction difficulties. The Workhouse had previously shared quarters with the City Infirmary in the Brooklyn district of Cleveland.

The new location was originally intended as a place where petty lawbreakers could work at productive occupations, specifically chair and brush making, to help pay their fines and court costs. In July 1871, the House of Refuge and Correction was established as part of the Workhouse to give the same opportunities to lawbreakers under the age of sixteen. A school, under the direction of the Chaplain, was established with the House of Refuge for both juvenile and adult prisoners.

After a farm colony was built in Warrensville in 1905, under the auspices of Harris R. Cooley, then head of the Cleveland Department of Charities and Correction, the Workhouse and House of Refuge gradually moved their operations to that site, until they were completely established there in 1907.

The Workhouse became part of the Warrensville complex known as the Cooley Farms. The Farms consisted of the Correction Farm, Overlook Farm (a tuberculosis sanatorium), Highland Park Farm (500 acres of land intended for use as a city cemetery), and the Boys' Farm.

At this time, the Cleveland Workhouse became one of the leading progressive penal institutions in the United States. The guiding principle of the Workhouse, rehabilitation through productive occupation, changed somewhat during this period. The adult male prisoners were removed from chair and brush making to outdoor occupations, such as making roads, digging ditches, crushing stone, and growing farm produce. The women and juvenile prisoners continued to make chairs and brushes.

The Workhouse maintained its position as a progressive penal institution through the Cleveland mayoral administrations of Tom L. Johnson and Newton D. Baker. Although the Workhouse diminished in prominence, it continued to exist as a prison in Warrensville under the name Warrensville House of Correction of the City of Cleveland.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for the Cleveland Workhouse


Scope and Content

The Cleveland Workhouse and House of Refuge and Correction Records, Series II, 1930, consist of one volume, a prisoner register for 1930.

This collection is of value to researchers studying the population of the Cleveland Workhouse in 1930. Those studying progressive penal institutions in the 1930s and the criminal justice system in Cleveland, Ohio, during the Great Depression will find this collection useful. Genealogists will find this name-rich collection useful as well.


Statement of Arrangement

The collection has been retained in original order and consists of one ledger book.

Restrictions on Access

None.

Related Material

The researcher should also consult MS 3681 Cleveland Workhouse and House of Refuge and Correction Records; MS 5347 Cleveland Workhouse and House of Refuge and Correction Records, Series III; and MS 5134 City Infirmary, Cleveland, Ohio, Records.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Cleveland Workhouse and House of Refuge and Correction.
Correctional institutions -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Crime -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Criminals -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Criminals -- Rehabilitation -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Workhouses -- Ohio -- Cleveland.

Preferred Citation

Cleveland Workhouse and House of Refuge and Correction Records, Series II, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Peter Wentz, 1991.

Processing Information

Processed by Ann B. Ameling in 1994.

Detailed Description of The Collection

Department of Welfare, Division of Correction Farm (Workhouse), "Prisoner Register, Monthly Board Control, Movement of Population" January-December 1930