Name/Title
Artifacts tell history of corrections facility.Description
Newspaper clippings from the Action Sunday West of October 17, 1993 found in a scrapbook in Waupun Museum. An identical article, #2006.0500.0181, is already in system; however, it is not complete as is this article.
Artifacts tell history of corrections facility.
By Jean Horwath
The glass case holds photos of women in long dresses tending a flower garden at the turn of the century, a baseball team from the early 1900s and a license plate dated 1911. It also holds handcuffs, keys and heavy restraint straps dating back to earlier years in the history of Waupun Correctional Institution.
Captain Ron Torsella, administrative captain at the institution, knows the history behind the artifacts displayed in the entryway at the correctional institution, since he frequently conducts tours.
"Some of the items in the case go back to the turn of the century," said Ron. "We find some of the things during house cleaning and remodeling. It's collected and stored, and some of the items have been put on display."
One of the latest finds was a chisel dug up during the construction of a new exercise area. A construction worker found it during excavation.
"We think the chisel was used back in the mid to late 1800s when the institution was first constructed," said Ron. "The blocks were hand cut to fit, and this is what they used to make the blocks. It must have been lost by a worker back then and buried for all these years."
"Once when we were excavating we found some old bones. That caused quite an uproar. We sent them to the crime lab in Madison and found out they were old animal bones from slaughtering," he added.
The first permanent building on the grounds was erected in 1852, housing 66 male and five female prisoners. Since that time the old and new have blended into a curious mix, with part of the finest corrections facilities in the state housed in an area that still retains remnants of more than a century of use. Video cameras are mounted on the walls near gates that have been there as long as anyone can remember.
"We're constantly doing repairs, both inside and outside," said Ron. "This place wasn't built to last forever and parts of it are over 100 years old. The old stone lasts a long time, but you have to keep it up."
The outside walls surrounding the 24-acre facility are 24 feet high, with a ledge of only 18" to 20" wide for the corrections officers to walk.
"That's why there are railings up there. It can look a lot higher than 24 feet when you're up there," said Ron.
"At one time the walls started to lean, and we had to call in some contractors to straighten them. When you're up there and you look down the wall, you can see it's crooked," said Ron
"I've been up in the big stone turrets too. We don't use them anymore, though they might have been used at one time. There's a long winding staircase to get you to the top, and the view is just spectacular," he said.
"We've still got one of the old towers on top of the south wall too," Ron added. "It's made of wood, and we don't use it very often, unless there's a disturbance."
The display cases in the entry include license plates dating from 1911 to the present. There are old logs recording clothing issued during 1943, listing the sizes of the prisoners, the style of coat they were issued as well as the number of pockets, cuffs and buttons.
What looks like a football helmet was used along with restraint straps to control unruly inmates that were a danger to themselves and others.
"Back then, they could use straps on the arms, legs and chest, but not on the head. That was considered inhumane. So instead they put the helmet on, and even then if a prisoner was out of control they would sometimes bang their head with the helmet on," said Ron.
The display contains a honey bucket used before the facility had indoor plumbing. There are telegraph keys and an old pharmacy scale in the case.
"We've got a few lapel pins from when the institution was called the Wisconsin State Prison too," said Ron.
Next to them are samples of sweatshirts and T-shirts currently available with "The Walls" in large letters next to a drawing of the front of the facility.
There are brushes and brooms in the display from when the facility had a binder twine plant, an old iron from the clothing shop, and old spittoons.
"The cane in here is really interesting," said Ron. "It's a security cane from when the prison used the silent system. The wooden cane has metal on the bottom half, and the officers would use a certain number of taps of the cane to signal the prisoners to turn or to stop."
"We've got log books on display from the late 1930s and early 1940s. There are some in storage that are really big and heavy that go back even further," said Ron.
One of the photos in the case shows women working in a flower garden with the walls behind them.
"Women were housed here until 1931, when the last ones were went to Taycheedah," added Ron.
The collection includes photos of old baseball teams, the old indoor recreation area and the license plate and sign shops. Pictures show how the facility has expanded.
"In one of the photos you can see the old entrance way, which has now been changed. It's probably a couple of gates back from where the current entrance is now," said Ron.
The display case, like the turrets and walls so familiar to Waupun's landscape, holds memories of a facility that has not outlived its usefulness in the state corrections system, that keeps growing and changing to meet the needs of the times.
Caption under photo of license plates:
Two cases house the license plates dating back to 1911.Acquisition
Accession
2013.0601Source or Donor
Found in collection.Acquisition Method
Bequest,Collected byCredit Line
Waupun Historical Society
