Plainfield Juvenile Correctional Facility - History

History

On January 11, 1867, Indiana Governor Oliver P. Morton appointed a commission to explore the possibility of creating a House of Refuge for delinquent boys. In April 1867, the first Board of Control was organized and visited houses of refuge in Chicago, Cincinnati and Lancaster, Ohio. The board used the Lancaster house as a model and selected a 225-acre (0.91 km2) site west of Plainfield, Indiana the following month.

In July 1867 construction of the first homes, a shop, a bakehouse and a milkhouse began on the grounds. The facility was designed to accommodate 100 boys until they were rehabilitated or reached the age of 21. In October, Francis B. Ainsworth was appointed first superintendent of the House of Refuge. Ainsworth had formerly been an official at the Reform School in Lancaster, Ohio, on which the new House of Refuge was modeled.

The first boy was received in January 1868; by years end, the House of Refuge had a population of 112 boys from all over Indiana. Most boys were members of gangs and petty thieves. Half of each day was spent in the classroom while the other half was spent working. All boys under 16 years were required to learn to read, write and perform simple arithmetic.

Between 1880-1888, fourteen new brick buildings were constructed on the grounds of IBS. The boys were charged with the task of not only constructing the new buildings, but also of making the bricks themselves. While the new buildings were under construction, IBS, already at a full capacity of 372 boys, was forced to refuse admission to 200 boys. As a result, in 1883, the Indiana General Assembly passed a bill renaming the institution the Indiana Reform School for Boys and establishing new requirements for entry.

In the 1890s, the disciplinary system at IBS was semi-military in nature, which can be attributed to the tenure of Colonel Thomas Charleton as superintendent. “The disciplining here is much as it is at West Point or Annapolis, except in this—that, instead of placing under arrest as is done with the worst offenders there, we use some corporal punishment,” Col. Charleton is reported to have said.

Col. Charleton declared himself “a believer in industrial work” and during his tenure began training boys in nineteen different occupations: brick making, brick burning, brick laying, plastering, painting, glazing, gas and steam fitting, gas making, bread making, cooking, tailoring, shoe making, gardening and farming, caring for stock, floriculture, carpentry, laundry, printing, blacksmithing, and making music.

In 1900, the badge system was adopted to set release dates for boys. New boys were given a “badge level” depending on the severity of their crime. The boys could earn badges for good behavior and hard work. Under the system, it was possible for a boy to leave the school in one year.

In 1901, the institution’s name was changed to Indiana Boys' School, a name it would keep for more than a century. Col. Charleton retired after 20 years as superintendent of the school in that same year and was replaced by E. E. York, who continued the system Charleton had established.

After adding tenth grade in 1901 and eleventh grade in 1915, the academic school at IBS was recognized by the Department of Education and given a probationary rating in 1926.

The next 20 years at IBS were marked by constant change. The badge system was replaced by a merit system in 1928. Under the merit system, a student needed to accumulate 5,000 “points” in order to be paroled but was required to stay for at least one year. The merit system was itself replaced by a classification system in 1935. In 1936, the state purchased more land surrounding IBS, increasing its size to 1,308 acres (5.29 km2).

IBS hosted movie crews in 1949 for the shooting of Johnny Holiday starring William Bendix, Hoagy Carmichael and Allen Martin Jr. The movie, directed by Willis Goldbeck, is the story of a young tough street boy who is sent to a boys’ prison. The historic Administration Building, built in 1893, is featured in several scenes.

In 1970, the farm and dairy programs were closed and replaced by a vocational horticulture program. The following year, co-ed activities were added to the school agenda. Monthly activities with the Indiana Girls’ School located about 9 miles (14 km) to the east were incorporated and included a co-ed newspaper called “The Herald and Super-Star Spectrum.” Other co-ed activities were group counseling, school and staff development.

In September 1971, the administration of IBS was reorganized to be more efficient. Part of those changes included the initiation of volunteer programs in cooperation with local churches. Some programs included were PACE (Program for All-inclusive Care of the Elderly), Rotarians, Optimists and Jaycees.

In June 1973, corporal punishment was halted at IBS following the U.S. District Court trial of a lawsuit filed by two former IBS inmates. One inmate who appeared at the trial said he “was paddled until he bled” and another claims to have been held in solitary confinement for 70 days.