Detroit House of Correction

Detroit House of Correction
Location Plymouth Township, Michigan
Status Closed
Opened 1861
Closed December 2004
Managed by Michigan Department of Corrections

The Detroit House of Correction (DeHoCo), opened in 1861, was owned and run by the city of Detroit but originally accepted prisoners from throughout the state including women. The Detroit House of Correction was transferred to the state in 1986, renamed to Western Wayne Correctional Facility, and became a women's facility for the rest of its tenure. It closed in December 2004 and all inmates and staff were transferred to the Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti.

History

Detroit House of Correction circa 1884 in Detroit's Eastern Market.
Interior of the Detroit House of Correction in the late 1800s

The first Detroit House of Correction opened in 1861 near Detroit's Eastern Market.[1]

In 1919, the city of Detroit purchased approximately 1,000 acres (400 ha) in Plymouth Township and Northville Township for approximately US$30 ($409.46 in 2016) an acre to house a new Detroit House of Correction. A prison camp, with inmates sleeping in tents, was opened in 1920. A permanent US$2,500,000 ($35,413,347 in 2016) maximum security facility was completed in 1930.[1][2]

The city of Detroit sold a portion of the complex to the Michigan Department of Corrections in 1979 for US$1,600,000 ($5,216,690 in 2016), and the remainder of the facility to the department in 1986 for US$6,700,000 ($14,463,783 in 2016). The facility was then renamed renamed to Western Wayne Correctional Facility and became a women's facility for the rest of its tenure.[1] The 1930 building closed and has sat abandoned since.[2]

The facility closed in December 2004 and all inmates and staff were transferred to the Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti.

In January 2002, Kojaian Management Corporation purchased the property for US$50,000,000 ($65,781,684 in 2016).[1]

Plymouth Township acquired 323 acres (131 ha) of the property in September 2011 for US$606,150 ($637,623 in 2016). The land was available for purchase by the government due to unpaid taxes.[3][4]

Notable inmates

Notable inmates during the prison's history included:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Petlewski, Kathy. "Detroit House of Correction - History". plymouthlibrary.org. Plymouth District Library. Retrieved 2015-07-27.
  2. 1 2 Tippen, Molly (November 10, 2010). "No Business Prospects for Long-Abandoned Detroit House of Correction". Plymouth-Canton, Michigan Patch. Retrieved 2015-07-27.
  3. ↑ "Detroit disputes what it calls illegal sale of old jail site to Plymouth Township". Detroit Free Press. September 26, 2012. Retrieved 2015-07-27.
  4. ↑ Lawrence, Eric D. (May 30, 2014). "Detroit's claim on old prison stalls major suburban development plans". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2015-07-27.
  5. ↑ "Clipping from The Galveston Daily News on Newspapers.com". The Galveston Daily News. Associated Press. April 26, 1984. p. 14. Retrieved 2015-07-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Jenkins, Kevin R. (July 21, 2015). "'Belle Starr' closes out Big River Chautauqua". Daily Journal Online. Retrieved 2015-07-27.

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, December 14, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.