Page 2 (in part) and all of Page 5 of the "The Ledgers of NY's Essex County Jail" segment of this presentation explore the Nov. 15, 1948 breakout of inmates William Moody and Edmund Hart that left jailor Earl Torrence (above) dead from a brutal bludgeoning by Hart.

Page 2 also explores (in part) Essex County's so-called "Chinese Jail" where the county housed federal immigration case detainees during the early 20th Century. The image below appeared in The Compendium of Local History: being a Guide for the Educator & the Scholar to the History of Essex County, New York next to historical notes about the jail.

In connection with the opening of the new Essex County Jail in Lewis, N. Y., in the autumn of 2007, the New York Correction History Society (NYCHS) created a "virtual tour" of
  • (a) the county's old jail building -- interior as well as exterior -- in Elizabethtown and

  • (b) the old jail's pre-computer record keeping.


Page 4 tells the stories of Essex inmates convicted of murder and executed, including Henry Debosnys (above). Page 3 explores the number of children -- ages as young as 10 -- jailed. The occupations listed for minors included "mining."
NYCHS timed unveiling its virtual tour presentation to coincide with the planned Oct. 1, 2007, "decommissioning" of the Elizabethtown site that is said to have served as the county jail location about 140 years.

Decommissioning ceremonies were to include removing the county symbol and American flag from the old location and transferring them to the new facility in Lewis.

Transfer of inmates was to take place later in the month but, for security reasons, the exact times and dates were not to be announced in advance.

Since shutdown of the old jail in 2003, inmates have been housed in a modular facility near it.

"The Ledgers of NY's Essex County Jail" segment of the virtual tour consists of five web pages reviewing the contents of three jail ledgers made available to NYCHS for research purposes by Major Richard Cutting, Essex County Jail Administrator since 1977. The five web pages feature a total of more than 140 images -- from the ledgers themselves and from other sources. The five web pages are listed and linked here:


Page 1 of "The Ledgers" segment explores how inmate accounts were kept with book entries and sales slips such as above.
The "Looking Back at Essex County's Old Jail in Elizabethtown,New York" segment of the virtual tour consists of web pages, each with a 7.5+ inches (550 points) wide image, one of 16 images made available to NYCHS by Essex County Jail Administrator Major Cutting.

They show views of the courthouse, the old jail (both exterior and interior) and the former residence for sheriffs and their families.

The 16 "Looking Back at Essex County's Old Jail in Elizabethtown,New York" image pages are listed and linked with thumbnails below. Clicking one of the thumbnail images below accesses the web page displaying its respective 7.5+ inch wide image version. Using "Next View" and "Previous View" navigational links the viewer can move back and forth among the 16 views. Another navigational link on each of the 16 "Looking Back" image pages returns the viewer to this page with the 16 thumbnails below..

NYCHS appreciates the help of Sheriff Henry Hommes' office, especially Major Cutting, in this presentation's preparation.

In addition to making available the jail and court images as well as the ledgers, Major Cutting provided valuable insight, information and guidance aiding our review of the materials and our on-line researches.

NYCHS appreciates NYS Correction Officer Joe Stickney's help in telling the story of his grand uncle Earl Torrence and Essex County Historical Society director Margaret Gibbs' help in tracking down the so-called "Chinese jail."

The Northern New York Historical Newspapers on-line archives, provided by the Northern New York Library Network,.proved to be a most valuable resource.

NYCHS webmaster

Click an image below to access its larger version image page.

County Courthouse, 2007
Looking Back
at
Essex County's
Old Jail in
Elizabethtown,
New York

Jail & sheriff ex-quarters, 2007.
xxxxx

Historical photo #1 of jail.

Historical photo #2 of jail.

2007 court interior photo #1
xxx

2007 court interior photo #2

2007 court interior photo #3

2007 court interior photo #4
xxx

Old jail interior photo #1:
Cellblock entry. Door on right
is where inmate Hart hid.

Old jail interior photo #2:
Straight-on view of
same area as #1.

Old jail interior photo #3:
Same area as #2 but
seen from opposite end.
xxx

Old jail interior photo #4:
View of closet
where inmate Hart hid.

Old jail interior photo #5:
View of cellblock of
5 cells from shower end.

Old jail interior photo #6:
View of cellblock of
5 cells from officer's post.
xxx

Old jail interior photo #7:
Typical
inmate cell.
Looking Back
at
Essex County's
Old Jail in
Elizabethtown,
New York

Old jail interior photo #8:
Locking mechanism
for cellblock

List of Links to Pages in New York Correction History Society's
Essex County Jail History Web Presentation

To NYCHS home page