A Note Regarding Resources: Items are listed on this page that enhance work with the topic discussed. Some older items, especially, may include dated practices and ideas that are no longer generally accepted. Resources reflecting current practices are noted whenever possible
Selected Reading
Brown, Gene. Violence on America’s Streets. Brookfield, CT: The Millbrook Press, 1992.
Street crime, gun control, the criminal justice system, and other aspects of crime and violence in modern America are discussed on an intermediate reading level.
Schleichert, Elizabeth. The Life of Dorothea Dix. Frederick, MD: Twenty-First Century Books, 1992.
Dix, a nineteenth-century reformer, devoted much of her life to improving the treatment of the mentally ill. This concern led her to prison reform. For intermediate readers.
Warburton, Lois. Prisons. San Diego, CA: Lucent Books, 1993.
This excellent book discusses prison history, philosophy of punishment, prison conditions, and reforms.
General Sources
DeFord, Miriam Allen. Stone Walls: Prisons from Fetters to Furloughs. Philadelphia: Chilton Company, Book Division, 1962.
An easy-to-read survey of world jail and prison history.
DeSantis, Vincent P. The Shaping of Modern America: 1877-1920. Arlington Heights, IL: Forum Press,1989.
A survey text.
Goldfarb, Ronald. Jails: The Ultimate Ghetto. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1975.
This book focuses on the history of local American jails and their particular problems.
Marshall, Helen E. Dorothea Dix: Forgotten Samaritan. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1937.
Biography of Dix and examination of her role as champion of reform in human dignity for those who are institutionalized.
Mays, G. Larry, and Joel A. Thompson, eds. American Jails: Public Policy Issues. Chicago: Nelson-Hall Publishers, 1991.
Collection of papers dealing with current jail issues.
McKelvey, Blake. American Prisons: A History of Good Intentions. Montclair, NJ: Patterson Smith, 1977.
An in-depth look at the history of American prisons—origins, reform movements, and future prospects.
Phillips, Clifton J. Indiana in Transition: The Emergence of an Industrial Commonwealth, 1880-1920. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau & Indiana Historical Society, 1968.
Standard source for the period
Schneekloth, Lynda H., Marcia F. Feverstein, and Barbara A. Campagna. Changing Places: Remaking Institutional Buildings. Fredonia, NY: White Pine Press, 1992.
This book covers the reasons why, and the how-to of the preservation of historic institutional buildings.
Sullivan, Larry E. The Prison Reform Movement: Forlorn Hope. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1990.
A history of American prison reforms.
Thornbrough, Emma Lou. Indiana in the Civil War Era, 1850-1880. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau & Indiana Historical Society, 1965; reprinted, 1992.
Standard source for the period.
Special Resources
The following facilities are listed as museums open to the public by the Association of Indiana Museums. Additional jails have been preserved and are used for other functions.
Indiana State Police Youth Education and Historical Center, Indianapolis. This new museum includes crime and punishment, law enforcement, investigative techniques, and a reference library. Tours can be specially designed. Call Jerry Federspeil, 317-899-8293.
Old Log Jail and Chapel in the Park Museums, Greenfield, 317-462-7780.
Kosciusko County Jail Museum, Warsaw, 219-269-1078.
Old Jail Museum, Crawfordsville, 317-362-5222.
Old Jail Museum, Albion, 219-636-2803.
Old Jail Museum, Valparaiso, 219-465-3595.
Special thanks to Michael Berger, Director and Curator of the Old Jail Museum in Crawfordsville, for sharing his time, knowledge, and enthusiasm.