Great Meadow Correctional Facility

{{Short description|Maximum-security state prison for men located in New York, US}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox prison| prison_name=Great Meadow Correctional Facility| location= [[Comstock, New York|Comstock]], [[Fort Ann, New York|Town of Fort Ann]],<br />[[Washington County, New York]], USA| status= Closed| classification=Maximum| capacity=| opened=February 11, 1911| closed=November 6, 2024| managed_by=[[New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision]]| }} '''Great Meadow Correctional Facility''' was a maximum security [[prison]] in [[New York (state)|New York State]] in the United States. The prison is in Comstock, a [[Hamlet (place)|hamlet]] right outside of the village of [[Fort Ann (village), New York|Fort Ann]] in [[Washington County, New York]]. As of September 3, 2008 it was home to 1,663 inmates. When Great Meadow opened in 1911 it was the fourth prison for adult males constructed in the state of New York.<ref name="Great Meadow 2008">"Great Meadow: A New Wall and a New Spirit." Author unknown. Document provided by Great Meadow Correctional Facility September 3, 2008.</ref> It closed down on November 6, 2024.

==Founding of the Prison==

The {{convert|1000|acre|km2}} of land that Great Meadow Correctional Facility sits on was purchased by the state of New York in 1905 from Isaac Baker. A mountain lake {{convert|2|mi|km|abbr=on}} from the prison was the main source of water for the facility. The lake sat higher than the prison grounds allowing the transfer of water to be efficient. The original plans for the land was to build an institution for the mentally insane; however, such an institution was never erected. Instead, in 1909 New York legislature appropriated $350,000 to build a new prison.<ref name="ReferenceA">"Great Meadow: A New Wall and a New Spirit". Author unknown. Document provided by Great Meadow Correctional Facility September 3, 2008.</ref>

[[File:RPPC Prison Comstock NY A.jpg|thumb|Prison dining room at Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Comstock, NY.]]

Until the Great Meadows Correctional Facility was built, New York Prisons had been named after the places where they were built. No one knows how Great Meadow got its name, but it may have been named after the huge plot of land that the prison sits on.

Construction began in 1909. The original cell block was more than {{convert|1000|ft|m}} long<ref name="ReferenceA"/> and featured 1,168 individual cells.<ref name="Paul W 1929">. Paul W, Garrett, MacCormicc, Austin H.. ''Handbook of American Prisons and Reformatories'' New York City: National Society of Penal Information, Inc., 1929.</ref> A new administrative building was built in 1932 while the original was remodeled as a hospital. All of the corridors of the prison opened up into one main corridor, called the Rotunda.<ref name="Paul W 1929"/>

The first inmates arrived in February 1911, although the official opening wasn't until June 8, 1911. Not until four years after the opening of the prison was the south wing of the cellblock completed.

Walter N. Thayer was the first warden, but was replaced only a few months later. In 1925, there were 782 prisoners, 515 of them were under the age of thirty. In 1925, 597 of the inmates at Great Meadow were white, 169 were black and 16 were other. In 1931 there were 1,103 inmates, 726 of whom were under the age of thirty. 847 of the inmates were white, 253 were black, and 3 were other.<ref>Cox, William B., Bixby, F. Lovell, Root, William T., ''Handbook of American Prisons and Reformatories''. New York City: National Society of Penal Information, Inc., 1933.</ref> Great Meadow was dubbed a correction facility in 1954 when the governor Dewey said, "One of the most pressing needs at the present time is an institution for young offenders in need of rigid discipline." One year was given to the Prisons to clear out the older inmates and make room for the younger incoming inmates. In 1958 construction of a new cell block with 52 beds began and was completed in 1963.<ref name="Great Meadow 2008"/>

==The Wall==

When Great Meadow first opened it was home to mostly first time offenders, and therefore it did not need a wall for many years. But as inmate population grew Great Meadows Correctional Facility started receiving second- and third-time offenders from other New York prisons such as Sing Sing and Clinton. Still, without a good wall, many inmates could not be sent to Great Meadow Correctional Facility. In 1924 construction of a {{convert|3000|ft|m|adj=on}} wall began. Four years later, the inmates had successfully finished walling themselves in.<ref name="Great Meadow 2008"/> The wall encloses just over twenty-one acres.<ref name="Paul W 1929"/> With the completion of building this wall Great Meadow became a maximum-security facility.

==Frank Abagnale==

In his pseudobiography, [[Catch Me If You Can (book)]], [[Frank Abagnale]] claims to have been on the run for 5 years from 1965 to 1970, working as pediatrician, assistant attorney general, professor and pilot.<ref>{{Citation|last=Abagnale|first=Frank W.|title=Catch Me If You Can|date=1980|publication-date=1980|others=Michael Cerveris, Stan Redding|place=New York, NY|publisher=HarperCollins Publishers|isbn=0-06-052971-7|oclc=51321293}}</ref> However, he was incarcerated at Great Meadow between July 26, 1965, and December 24, 1968 effectively eliminating any veracity to his claims of impersonation.{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}

==Major incidents==

August 17, 1955: 75 inmates armed with bats and clubs refused to move from the yard. The warden gave them five minutes and then authorized the state police to forcefully return them to their cells.<ref name="Great Meadow 2008"/>

May 1976: A fight broke out between two Muslim groups. They armed themselves with baseball bats and chunks of wood. A warning shot was fired and the guards used tear gas to break the fight up.<ref>Goldstein, Tom, "30 Hurt in Clash in Upstate Prison; Muslim Rivalry is Cited in Great Meadow Incident" ''New York Times'' May 20, 1976. P25.</ref>

August 1976: The inmates, in apparent protest, refused to leave their cells, administrators believe the protest to be due to overcrowding, lack of work for all inmates, and racism. A report on Great Meadow called the facility "the garbage heap of the state prison system." No one was hurt during the demonstration.<ref>Treaster, Joseph B., "Peaceful Protest Is Conducted By Inmates in Comstock Prison" ''New York Times'' Aug. 31, 1976. P.23</ref>

May 1981: After an hour-long exercise period, a brawl broke out between inmates and correctional officers. In total 28 people, including two guards, were injured. The brawl broke out at 11 A.M. and with the help of tear gas was brought under control within twenty minutes.<ref>Author unknown. "28 Are Injured in a brawl at State Prison in Comstock; Tear Gas Helped Alarm Device Used Prisoners Moved From Essex Jail" ''New York Times'' May 30, 1981. P.26.</ref>

A 38-year-old inmate died in 1982 after an encounter with prison guards. The altercation broke out when the inmate attacked a guard while being escorted back to his cell.<ref>Author Unknown. "Prisoner, 38, Dies After Scuffle" ''New York Times'': April 1982.</ref>

September 2007: Guards used tear gas to break up an inmate quarrel. This was the second time in one week that officers used gas to break up a fight.<ref>Author Unknown. "Comstock: Another Inmate Brawl". Associated Press. ''New York Times''. (Late Edition (East Coast)): Sep 12, 2007.</ref>

==Notable inmates== *[[Richard Angelo]] - serial killer and poisoner *[[James Larkin]] - Irish Republican and labor leader * [[Murder of Karina Vetrano|Chanel Lewis]] - serving a life sentence for murdering [[Murder of Karina Vetrano|Karina Vetrano]] *[[Lucky Luciano]] - crime boss and gangster transferred as part of [[Operation Underworld]] *[[Murder of Lesandro Guzman-Feliz#Perpetrators and suspects|Manuel Rivera]] - serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 23 years for the [[Murder of Lesandro Guzman-Feliz]] *[[Colin Ferguson (convict)|Colin Ferguson]] - mass murderer, serving a [[Life imprisonment|de facto]] life sentence of 385 years and 8 months in prison for the [[1993 Long Island Rail Road shooting]]. *[[Nicholas Wiley]] - serial killer convicted of the murders of three women, confessed to seven.<ref>{{Cite news |last=York |first=Michelle |date=2004-08-01 |title=Man Charged in 2 Murders; Police Say He Confessed to 7 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/01/nyregion/man-charged-in-2-murders-police-say-he-confessed-to-7.html |access-date=2024-01-31 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> * [[Frank Abagnale]] - Security consultant, convicted felon for notorious frauds. * [[Murder of Tessa Majors|Rashaun Weaver]] - Convicted for 14 years to life in prison for the [[murder of Tessa Majors]], along with his friend Luchiano Lewis. Transferred to [[Coxsackie Correctional Facility]] following the prison's closure.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Inmate Information » NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision | url=https://nysdoccslookup.doccs.ny.gov/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107201440/http://nysdoccslookup.doccs.ny.gov:80/ | access-date=2026-04-03 | archive-date=2012-01-07}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.doccs.ny.gov/faclist.html NY prison information] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114114116/http://www.doccs.ny.gov/faclist.html |date=2020-01-14 }}

[[Category:Prisons in New York (state)]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Washington County, New York]] [[Category:1911 establishments in New York (state)]]