Author Archive
House of Refuge for Women Founder Inspires New York City’s First Monument Dedicated to a Woman

House of Refuge for Women Founder Inspires New York City’s First Monument Dedicated to a Woman

As told by Joan Waugh in her book on the life of Josephine Shaw Lowell (Unsentimental Reformer,Harvard University Press, 1997): At noon on May 22, 1912, a granite fountain designed...

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Doing No Harm

Doing No Harm

 Peter Tenerowicz, a lifelong resident of Hudson, NY, worked as a corrections officer (prison guard) at the Hudson Correctional Facility between 1981 and 2008. He was interviewed by oral historian...

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The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same…Or Do They?

The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same…Or Do They?

Echoing trends over a century ago, today’s reformers’ are critical of large juvenile prisons and aim to create small, ‘home-like’ environments for confined youth. In 1906, at the Seventh New...

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“She Was Incorrigible…”

“She Was Incorrigible…”

 These photos and documents were among a small stash of early 1920’s ephemera from the Training School For Girls found by Lisa Durfee, the Tainted Lady Lounge blogger, in an...

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Why it is important "Remember"

Why it is important “Remember”

 Mary Allen was interviewed and photographed by Suzanne Snider on June 2nd, 2011. In the 1970’s, Mary worked at the New York State Training School for Girls in Hudson as well as...

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First Prison for Women In the U.S.?

First Prison for Women In the U.S.?

As we read and hear more about the House of Refuge For Women built in 1887 in Hudson, NY, we wonder where this institution fits within the history of women’s...

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