Cleveland Workhouse and House of Refuge and Correction

The Cleveland Workhouse was formally established as a separate institution in January 1871, in Cleveland, Ohio. The building did not open until March of that year due to construction difficulties. The Workhouse had previously shared quarters with the City Infirmary in the Brooklyn district of Cleveland.

The new location was originally intended as a place where petty lawbreakers could work at productive occupations, specifically chair and brush making, to help pay their fines and court costs. In July 1871, the House of Refuge and Correction was established as part of the Workhouse to give the same opportunities to lawbreakers under the age of sixteen. A school, under the direction of the Chaplain, was established with the House of Refuge for both juvenile and adult prisoners.

After a farm colony was built in Warrensville in 1905, under the auspices of Harris R. Cooley, then head of the Cleveland Department of Charities and Correction, the Workhouse and House of Refuge gradually moved their operations to that site, until they were completely established there in 1907.

The Workhouse became part of the Warrensville complex known as the Cooley Farms. The Farms consisted of the Correction Farm, Overlook Farm (a tuberculosis sanatorium), Highland Park Farm (500 acres of land intended for use as a city cemetery), and the Boys' Farm.

At this time, the Cleveland Workhouse became one of the leading progressive penal institutions in the United States. The guiding principle of the Workhouse, rehabilitation through productive occupation, changed somewhat during this period. The adult male prisoners were removed from chair and brush making to outdoor occupations, such as making roads, digging ditches, crushing stone, and growing farm produce. The women and juvenile prisoners continued to make chairs and brushes.

The Workhouse maintained its position as a progressive penal institution through the Cleveland mayoral administrations of Tom L. Johnson and Newton D. Baker. Although the Workhouse diminished in prominence, it continued to exist as a prison in Warrensville under the name Warrensville House of Correction of the City of Cleveland.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for the Cleveland Workhouse

From the guide to the Cleveland Workhouse and House of Refuge and Correction Records, 1855-1950, (Western Reserve Historical Society)

The Cleveland Workhouse was formally established as a separate institution in January 1871, in Cleveland, Ohio. The building did not open until March of that year due to construction difficulties. The Workhouse had previously shared quarters with the City Infirmary in the Brooklyn district of Cleveland.

The new location was originally intended as a place where petty lawbreakers could work at productive occupations, specifically chair and brush making, to help pay their fines and court costs. In July 1871, the House of Refuge and Correction was established as part of the Workhouse to give the same opportunities to lawbreakers under the age of sixteen. A school, under the direction of the Chaplain, was established with the House of Refuge for both juvenile and adult prisoners.

After a farm colony was built in Warrensville in 1905, under the auspices of Harris R. Cooley, then head of the Cleveland Department of Charities and Correction, the Workhouse and House of Refuge gradually moved their operations to that site, until they were completely established there in 1907.

The Workhouse became part of the Warrensville complex known as the Cooley Farms. The Farms consisted of the Correction Farm, Overlook Farm (a tuberculosis sanatorium), Highland Park Farm (500 acres of land intended for use as a city cemetery), and the Boys' Farm.

At this time, the Cleveland Workhouse became one of the leading progressive penal institutions in the United States. The guiding principle of the Workhouse, rehabilitation through productive occupation, changed somewhat during this period. The adult male prisoners were removed from chair and brush making to outdoor occupations, such as making roads, digging ditches, crushing stone, and growing farm produce. The women and juvenile prisoners continued to make chairs and brushes.

The Workhouse maintained its position as a progressive penal institution through the Cleveland mayoral administrations of Tom L. Johnson and Newton D. Baker. Although the Workhouse diminished in prominence, it continued to exist as a prison in Warrensville under the name Warrensville House of Correction of the City of Cleveland.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for the Cleveland Workhouse

From the guide to the Cleveland Workhouse and House of Refuge and Correction Records, Series II, 1930, (Western Reserve Historical Society)