Northampton County Prison
Encyclopedia
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
located in Easton, Pennsylvania
Easton, Pennsylvania
Easton is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,800 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Northampton County....
in the United States.
The prison is situated adjacent to the Northampton County Courthouse and consists of four inter-connected buildings. It contains 15 separate housing units and a community corrections facility (work release
Work release
In prison systems, work release programs allow a prisoner who is sufficiently trusted or can be sufficiently monitored to leave confinement to continue working at his or her current place of employment, returning to prison when his/her shift is complete...
) with a capacity of 913 inmates.
History
The newly formed Northampton CountyNorthampton County, Pennsylvania
As of the 2010 census, the county was 86.3% White, 5.0% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 2.4% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 2.2% were two or more races, and 3.8% were some other race. 10.5% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry.As of the census of...
built its first jailhouse in 1753. The building was located in Easton's Centre Square. The building was constructed from massive stone walls and served two purposes, to detain prisoners and to act as a safe house in the event of an attack from nearby Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
tribes.
In 1851 the jail was relocated Sitgreaves Street. The new building contained 27 cells and was surrounded by 15 feet (4.6 m) high walls. In 1861 the Northampton County courthouse was built on its present site on Washington Street. The jail was too small at this time and offered an inconvenience in transporting prisoners to and from the courthouse.
In 1868 work began on a new prison adjacent to the courthouse. The building was completed in 1871 at a cost of $200,000. The building has undergone major renovation due to overcrowding. In 1909 an addition was completed and soon after a wall was erected to contain an outside recreation area to comply with state law. In 1993 two direct supervision units were added soon followed by the free standing Community Corrections Facility. In 2004 Northampton County Council approved a 22.8 million dollar expansion. The new expansion was completed in 2006 and consisted of 2 towers with three podular/direct supervision units, a new intake unit and connected the buildings.