Rhode Island State Prison and Providence County Jail records (1995-291)

Historical note

The State Prison was originally located on Gaspee Street, north of the Cove Basin. This structure was completed in 1838 and the Providence County Jail was added a year later. The warden of the state prison also served as the jailer. By 1874 a report was issued by the State Prison Commission recommending the building and relocation of a new state prison to the area known as the "State Farm" located in Cranston, about seven miles from the city of Providence. By 1883 this area housed the following institutions: the State Workhouse and House of Correction, the State Asylum for the Incurable Insane, the State Almshouse, the State Prison (1878), the Providence County Jail, the Oaklawn School for Girls (1884) and the Sockanosset School for Boys (1884) The management of the State Institutions in Cranston was vested in the Board of State Charities and Corrections.