Provision for this facility was originally made by legislation of 1890 (Chapter 238), in "An Act to provide for the establishment of a house of refuge for women in western New York." The facility was to be located in the 7th or 8th judicial district and to be known as the Western House of Refuge for Women. The governor was to appoint five state residents, including at least two women, as a board of managers who were to purchase land and buy or construct buildings. When construction was completed, the board was to appoint a female superintendent and to provide county clerks with blank forms to use when committing women to the institution. Women age 15-30 who were convicted of petit larceny, habitual drunkenness, prostitution, or any misdemeanor could be sentenced here for up to five years, unless the term was commuted by the board of managers.
The Western House of Refuge operated under the jurisdiction of the State Board of Charities. In 1909 (Chapter 57), the Charities Law lowered the maximum sentence to three years and authorized the sentencing of women from the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th judicial districts to this facility. When the Department of Correction was established (Laws of 1926, Chapter 606), this facility was transferred to the jurisdiction of that department, and the board consisted of seven members, at least two of whom were women and one a physician.
In 1923 (Chapter 26, which amended Laws of 1909, Chapter 57, Section 220), the name of this facility was changed to Albion State Training School. The name was changed again in 1931 (Chapter 546), when the division for mentally defective women was transferred from the New York State Reformatory for Women at Bedford Hills to Albion. The Albion State Training School then became known as the "Institution for Mentally Defective Delinquent Women." The function of the facility changed from that of a reformatory to one for the care and training of mentally defective women offenders. Female mental defectives over 16 who were convicted of a misdemeanor or felony could be committed by a court order upon certification of mental deficiency by two examiners. The following year (Laws of 1932, Chapter 585), the name of this facility was changed back to Albion State Training School, but the function was not changed.
The Western Reformatory for Women was established at Albion as a state reformatory in 1957 (Chapter 802), which amended Section 270 and added Section 270-a of the Correction Law). The reformatory received female offenders age 16-30 by transfer or direct commitment. The reformatory was to use the same grounds and facilities as the Albion State Training School, but the two were to be managed as separate institutions. However, the superintendent and assistant superintendent of the state training school were also to hold those positions in the reformatory, and the accounts of the two institutions could be combined. In 1962 (Chapter 108), Section 270-a of the Correction Law was amended, omitting the part calling for separate management of the two institutions. Since 1971, the reformatory has operated as a medium security general confinement institution as defined in the Laws of 1970 (Ch. 476), being a facility for the confinement, treatment, education, and vocational training of inmates. The facilities at Albion are collectively known as the Albion Correctional Facility.
From the New York State Archives, Cultural Education Center, Albany, NY. Agency record NYSV88-A225
