Indianapolis Juvenile Correctional Facility - Early History

Early History

In 1869, the Indiana State Legislature established the Indiana Reformatory Institution for Women and Girls stating that “There shall be established as soon as possible after the taking effect of this act, at or near the city of Indianapolis, an institution to be known as the Indiana Reformatory Institution for Women and Girls." This was the first prison exclusively for females in the nation. Prior to the act, female juvenile offenders were taken care of by their county jails. In 1899, the girls were given separate quarters from the women (but were still on the same grounds), and the institution was renamed the Indiana Industrial School for Girls. However, the girls and the women were still housed under the same roof. Prior to the separation, the girls and the women would do activities together such as prayer services and household work. The women were thought to have a negative effect on the young girls’ morals, so in 1907 the girls moved to an entirely different facility. This facility was named The Indiana Girls’ School, and the woman’s facility was renamed The Indiana Women’s Prison. According to correspondents of the time, the Indiana Girls’ School was built on the belief that firmness, fairness, and kindness were the keys to changing the girls’ attitudes. Girls who were “epileptic, insane, feeble-minded, paralytic, pregnant, or had a contagious disease” were not admitted to the facility. Instead, these girls were sent back to their homes. The school’s first superintendent was Charlotte Dye. A state law brought any girl who was convicted of activities which included but were not limited to: visiting gambling places, trespassing on railroad property, patronizing liquor saloons, using bad language, or smoking cigarettes to the school.