ALLEGHENY COUNTY WORKHOUSE RECORDS
1866-1971
28 cu. ft.
In response to a petition from the Board of Prison Inspectors of Allegheny county concerned with the rising costs of maintaining prisoners at the county jail and the increasingly crowded conditions there, in 1866 the state legislature authorized the construction of a workhouse in Allegheny County. The Allegheny County Workhouse and Inebriate Asylum at Claremont (Blawnox) admitted its first inmates in 1869, two years before the buildings and wall were completed. The workhouse was officially closed in 1971.
The records of the Allegheny County Workhouse consist of minute books of the
Board of Managers, 1866-1971, 11 volumes; oaths of officials, 1888-1912, 1 volume;
visitors' records, 1871-1880, 1 volume; account books, 1866-1940, 9 volumes;
and various population records (admission and discharge books, 1870-1877, 3
volumes; conduct books, 1870-1906, 1915-1919, 8 volumes; discharge and descriptive
dockets, 1873-1971, 24 volumes; daily sick call books, 1896-1940, 18 volumes;
escaped prisoners records, 1882-1971, 3 volumes; hospital record books, 1913-1939,
6 volumes; prison registers, 1869-1951, 17 volumes; punishment books, 1870-1873,
1880-1892, 1904-1959, 7 volumes; and hard labor registers, 1869-1971, 24 volumes.
Included are 11 annual reports (printed) partially covering the period 1873-1899,
and a typed manuscript entitled "Feeding of Inmates of Allegheny County Workhouse,"
by E. W. Tillotson, Jr., and W. A. Hamor.
Board of Managers
- Account Books, 1904-1940. (4 volumes) {#197m.4} [Description] [Holdings]
- Admission and Discharge Books, 1870-1877. (3 volumes) {#197m.8} [Description] [Holdings]
- Cash Book, 1866-1871. (1 volume) {#197m.6} [Description] [Holdings]
- Contract Book, 1867. (1 volume) {#197.m7} [Description] [Holdings]
- Minute Books, 1866-1971. (11 volumes) {#197m.1} [Description] [Holdings]
- Oaths of Officials, 1888-1912. (1 volume) {#197m.5} [Description] [Holdings]
- Pay Rolls of Officers and Employees, 1877-1909. (3 volumes) {#197.3} [Description] [Holdings]
- Visitor's Records, 1871-1880. (1 volume) {#197m.2} [Description] [Holdings]
Population Records
- Conduct Books, 1870-1906, 1915-1919. ( 7 volumes) {#197m.9} [Description] [Holdings]
- Daily Sick Call Books, 1896-1940. (15 volumes) {#197m.11} [Description] [Holdings]
- Discharge and Descriptive Dockets, 1873-1971. (24 volumes) {#197m.10} [Description] [Holdings]
- Escaped Prisoner Books, 1882-1971. (3 volumes) {#197m.12} [Description] [Holdings]
- Hospital Record Books, 1913-1939, 1968-1970. (7 volumes) {#197m.13} [Description] [Holdings]
- Prison Register Books, 1869-1951. (17 volumes) {#197m.14} [Description] [Holdings]
- Punishment Books, 1870-1873, 1880-1892, 1904-1959. (7 volumes) {#197m.15} [Description] [Holdings]
- Register to Include All Prisoners Tried and Sentenced to Hard Labor Books,
1869-1971. (25 volumes) {#197m.16} [Description]
[Holdings]
- Reports, 1873, 1874, 1879-1899, 1910, 1924. (17 volumes) {#197m.17} [Description]
[Holdings]
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