Articles

Wingdale Prison
1911-1924

Shortly after April 16th, 1911 construction of the Wingdale Prison or - "The Sing Sing Country Club" as it was known at the time; began to get underway at the foot of the Fishkill Hills in Wingdale NY. The new state of the art prison was to be built upon 618 acres of rich farm land and rolling hills which the state had acquired from local farmers for a total value of $65,000 dollars.

Majority of the land came from the 366 acre Wheeler Estate; which the state paid in full, for $36,600 dollars. The estate included:

"A group of barns and stables sufficiently large to house a herd of fifty cows and protect many tons of hay and other provender from the weather. Also the old Wheeler house, a Colonial structure which rests on the gentle slope leading down to the prison site proper, went with the purchase, and there at present are housed the engineers and others who are preparing to start operations on the prison building in a few days."

Three other farms were also purchased by the state including; Titus Farm, Wilcox Farm, and Brown Farm.

Note - for more information on the farms mentioned above: click here.

Construction of the "first group of buildings" at the prison was expected to take two years at a cost of roughly $2,196,000 dollars, although it was estimated at the time that the prison would cost anywhere from $4,000,000 to $8,000,000 dollars to complete. The job was given to the P. J. Carlin Construction Co. a contracting company from New York City. Included in the base price of roughly two million dollars the P.J. Carlin company agreed to begin construction of the following buildings:

1. Administration Building 2. 2,500 Cell Block Building 3. Hospital 4. School 5. Mess Hall & Kitchen 6. Foundry 7. Barn 8. Wagon Shop 9. Lumber Shed 10. Boiler House 11. Engine Room 12. Laundry House 13. Bath House 14. Blacksmith Shop

Also slated for construction was a reservoir and prison wall; a 1,500 x 800 foot long wall that would enclose the original fourteen buildings. After these structures were built and complete a second state of constructed was planned for which included:

15. Condemned and Punishment Building
16. Chapel
17. Storehouse
18. South Industrial Shop
19. Recreation Building
20. Wardens Residence

Wingdale was chosen as the site of a new State prison after a failed attempt to construct a prison at Bear Mountain overlooking the Hudson River. After Bear Mountain was deemed unfit for farming the building plans were altered slightly - then used at the Wingdale site under the watch of architect William J. Beardsley. New York State officials looked to create a model farm prison to replace the infamous Sing Sing prison which at the time was overcapacity. The site was selected due to its close proximity to the Wingdale Railroad Station and vast farmlands; which were planned to be farmed by inmates once the prison opened. The only downfall to the site was the Swamp River; which ran along the western edge of the property. Officials worried about the health of inmates as locals claimed the swamp had "mosquitoes by the millions" - but plans were put forward to drain / divert the swamp if health issues ever did arise. Majority of the Wingdale residents at the time welcomed the new prison as they knew it would bring along business and industry to the quiet farm town. On March 21, 1912 Governor John A. Dix along with his own commission (which was put in place to observe the New York State Department of State Prisons and Commission on New Prisons) called for the abandonment of the Wingdale Prison master plan. Although rumors surfaced that the governor had halted plans due to business deals run aground; the official reason for the call to abandon the site was: "The objections to the site are on the ground of the proximity of a water-flow dangerously near the foundation levels; inadequate drainage; a questionable water supply, with considerable uncertainty as to its development unless at a very high cost; comparative inaccessibility, with incidental high rates for transportation, and the heavy cost of a completed plant entailed largely by reason of the location". Although construction did not stop entirely it was decided by the state that buildings with foundations already laid be completed, then halt construction until it was decided what to do with the prison buildings. Construction dragged on after 1912 as funding problems dampened the rate of construction at the site, but eventually construction wrapped up. Only four of the original fourteen buildings were ever completed; they included the power plant, cell buildings A & B and dining hall C. Although none of these buildings were put to use while the site was a prison, a number of prisoners were housed at the Wingdale site in wooden barracks.

Images: "General View, Wingdale Prison" (above) "Central Heating & Lighting Plant, Wingdale Prison, New York" (right)

As the buildings laid abandon the State came up with two alternate plans for the Wingdale Prison; keep it as a prison for "the execution of the death penalty and for the detention of all those who have been sentenced to life in prison" or "turn it into a hospital for the agrarian insane". On December 25th 1923 Governor Alfred E. Smith announced the prison site would in fact become a hospital "to keep high-grade, harmless lunatics who are physically rugged at Wingdale and work them on farms there."

On August 23, 1924 Harlem Valley State Hospital officially opened under the supervision of Dr. John R. Ross (formerly head of Dannemora State Hospital for Criminal Insane). On opening day 10 women and 22 men from Central Islip and Kings Park State Hospitals became the 1st patients ever at Harlem Valley; nearly 14 years after the first cornerstone was laid.