Auburn Correctional Facility Collection

Ship Model made by an incarcerated individual

This model ship, made from matchsticks, was created by an incarcerated individual in Auburn Correctional Facility. The model is intricately constructed with three masts that have rigging, portholes, and gunports. Also included are two miniature rowboats that lay on the deck near the ship's wheel.

Large wooden box with hinged lid

This large box was made by an incarcerated individual at Auburn Correctional Facility. The box is made from inlaid wood that is covered with geometric shapes and patterns. It has a hinged lid that opens up to reveal several compartments that are lined with orange velvet fabric.

Dado Plane

When Auburn Correctional Facility was under the contract system in the mid-1800s, several companies in Auburn contracted out their labor to the correctional facility to cut down on the price of manufacturing. One of those companies, which later came to be known as Auburn Tool Company, had a contract with the prison starting in 1823. The workshop created a number of tools, but the carpenter plane was made in abundance. A carpenter's plane is a small hand tool with an adjustable blade that carves and smoothes wood. The one pictured is called a Dado plane. Dado planes are used to make grooves in the surface of wood.

Coverlet ca. 1870

Another workshop within the correctional facility was a fabric workshop. Incarcerated individuals would weave, spin, and dye fabrics that would later be sold or used for other manufactured items made at one of the shops. This blanket, which is made of a flax-based textile, was made in one of the fabric workshops in the 1870s.

Bernard Offenburg Corrections Officer Badge

This badge belonged to Bernard Offenburg who was a Correction Officer at Sing Sing Prison in the 1940s and 1950s. The badge is engraved with New York State’s Coat of Arms and identifies Bernard Offenburg as an “Officer” of the New York State Department of Correction.

Allen Tupper Cane

Allen Purdy Tupper (1851-1913) worked as a guard and keeper at Auburn Correctional Facility for over thirty years and was appointed Principal Keeper in 1899 for the last 14 years of his
employment. As Principal Keeper he oversaw discipline of the facility and supervised electrocutions. As Principal Keeper, he carried around this metal-tipped tapping cane which he used to signal directions by a series of taps on the ground.

Lock and Key set to an old cell in Auburn Correctional Facility

The cell blocks were rebuilt at Auburn Correctional Facility after the uprisings in 1929. Before this happened, each cell had to be opened individually with a key. This lock and key set was most likely harvested during the reconstruction of the facility. Today, the cells are electronically locked and can all be opened at once or individually.

Kenneth Maywalt Collection

Kenneth Maywalt worked in the New York State Prison System as a Correction Officer from the 1950s to the 1970s at Auburn, Attica, and Sing Sing Prisons. His collection contains documents related to his prison career, newspaper clippings, and documents written by incarcerated individuals. One of the documents in the Kenneth Maywalt Collection is a typed list of proposals made by incarcerated people which were accepted by the State Correction Commissioner Russell Oswald in 1971. The proposals relate to matters of facility condition, compensation, and programs for treatment and education. This list of proposals was published in The New York Times September 12, 1971.

Kenneth Maywalt’s Assignment Paper

This document in the collection shows Kenneth Maywalt’s appointment to Auburn Correctional Facility in 1971. Correction Officers are schooled and trained by the New York State Department of Correction. When their training is complete, they are appointed to posts at the various correctional facilities around the state. Kenneth Maywalt received this appointment letter in November of 1971, letting him know where he was to be posted, when he needed to report for duty, and how much his new salary would be.

Josiah Barber Labor Contract

Josiah Barber (1800-1880) was one of many Auburn manufacturers who profited from the inexpensive labor of incarcerated individuals. Barber came to Auburn in 1829 and had multiple contracts over the years with the correctional facility to use incarcerated labor in his woolen business. This labor contract is between John Beardsley, an agent of Auburn Prison at the time, and Josiah Barber for use of incarcerated individuals to weave, spin, and dye cloth. It was written August 1, 1843.

Mutual Welfare League Program

The Mutual Welfare League was established in 1913 by Thomas Mott Osborne as a reform program for incarcerated individuals. It emphasized rehabilitation and education instead of punishment. The League allowed for incarcerated individuals to plan programs to suit their needs and help them prepare for release. These programs, which could range from sports to entertainment, were run by committees. This souvenir program was made for a musical titled “In Bad - The Jailer,” and was put on in 1921.