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    Morganza: Pennsylvania’s Reform School
    Morganza: Pennsylvania’s Reform School
    Morganza: Pennsylvania’s Reform School
    Ebook161 pages1 hour

    Morganza: Pennsylvania’s Reform School

    By Christopher R. Barraclough

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    About this ebook

    Originally the House of Refuge in Pittsburgh, the facility was moved to a healthier setting in 1876, taken over by the state, and converted into an institution for the incarceration of juvenile offenders. Local parents would threaten to send their children there if they misbehaved. Morganza has long been a draw for historical researchers, urban explorers, ghost hunters, and others interested to learn more about those who lived and worked there. Morganza was easily identified by its administration building capped by a striking copper cupola, located prominently just off Interstate 79 in Cecil Township. Its distinctive architecture was also featured in the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs. Over the years, Morganza underwent several name changes. Standing as a containment campus for delinquent youths for just over 90 years, it later functioned as a facility to aid the mentally handicapped until its closure in 2000.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateFeb 17, 2014
    ISBN9781439644768
    Morganza: Pennsylvania’s Reform School
    Author

    Christopher R. Barraclough

    Author Christopher R. Barraclough has long been fascinated by Morganza. Through exhaustive searches in diverse archives and by the knowledge of those who were part of its history, he provides a unique perspective on what was once considered a groundbreaking establishment.

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      Book preview

      Morganza - Christopher R. Barraclough

      Library.

      INTRODUCTION

      At the time of this writing, many historical state schools, hospitals, and correctional facilities continue to close and eventually get demolished. Big cities and small towns reconsider the uses of the land where these historic structures once sat. Historians across the nation struggle to document these amazing structures and the stories kept within them. In this era, the country can look back and see how inside and outside changes influenced this eventual outcome.

      The Pennsylvania Reform School at Morganza was one of many of these historical institutes statewide, but it was unique in its own. Established in April 1850 by an act of the Pennsylvania Legislature as the House of Refuge, it became one of the first institutes of its type in the state of Pennsylvania. The House of Refuge opened in 1854 in what was the ninth ward of Allegheny, on the north side of Pittsburgh. In 1876, it was relocated near Canonsburg in Washington County, Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Reform School was purposely built in a vast country area surrounded by nature, instead of in the city of Pittsburgh, and introduced the Family System of living. The location was farmland surrounded by sloping hills. Through old photographs, the beautiful rural landscape, located approximately 20 miles south of Pittsburgh and bordering Chartiers Creek, can be seen. Besides the scenic countryside, the land was practical and functional for the Pennsylvania Reform School. The magnificent campus was filled with elegant architectural structures and beautiful landscaping.

      Morganza was the name given to the land on which the institution was built. Often, parents would threaten their kids that if they misbehaved, they would be sent to Morganza. The name became the term most used to describe the institution throughout its existence, although it underwent a series of name changes. The school was closed in the 1960s and the remaining inmates were sent to other institutes for juvenile delinquents. The institution then served as a home for the mentally handicapped and emotionally disturbed. The institution maintained the campus until it was closed. It was ultimately demolished in 2012.

      Architectural beauty was never the intended purpose of the buildings; they were designed to reform young individuals into becoming proper citizens in society. And, in their later lives, institutions like this were necessary to help people with mental disorders and other emotional handicaps function in society. Throughout its years of operation, concerns such as isolation, confinement, neglect, and abuse arose. Findings and laws prohibiting the use of young adolescents to work in fields and perform other taxing manual labor jobs impacted facilities like this. As conditions deteriorated, whether because of lack of funding or new technological methods, many institutes began to close.

      The institution was not flexible enough to face the medical and social challenges of 20th-century reform. With an enormous campus and little to no admittance, a facility of this magnitude could no longer operate. The historical journey of the institution at Morganza came to an end in May 2012 when the final structure was demolished. By turning to books and archives and speaking with historians and others who recalled their experiences, it is now possible to discover what life was like in one of the state’s first juvenile correctional institutes.

      One

      BUILD AND REFORM

      In December 1876, the inmates at the House of Refuge were transferred to the Pennsylvania Reform School at Morganza. At the time of the move, some of the old buildings at the House of Refuge faced a sudden breakdown of their heating apparatuses and water-supply systems. The removal of the inmates to the new institution went without incident.

      Upon the opening, boys were kept busy with grading of the grounds, gardening, and farming. At this time, the laying out of roads and the construction of additional farm buildings and surface drainage were all under way. In June 1876, an application of amendment was placed, putting the institution under the control of the state. The amendment provided for 16 of the 26 managers to be approved by the governor and subject to change by the state senate. Financial difficulties called for the state to take complete control. By 1879, the Pennsylvania Reform School became the first state-owned institute for delinquent children. For the next nearly 90 years, the institute was used exclusively for the care of juvenile delinquents.

      The name Pennsylvania Reform School was maintained until 1912, when it was changed to the Pennsylvania Training School in order to eliminate the stigma of the former name. The Pennsylvania Training School had its share of good days, the best of which were in the period soon after the name change. The school also had its share of troubles, including one incident in 1949 when an escapee shot another boy in Pittsburgh. This was followed by a supervised visit from the state secretary of welfare, who stated that there would be a major shake-up at Morganza and that it was being run by remote control. This prompted a visit from the Pennsylvania Bureau of Corrections during which school officers admitted to taking no disciplinary action in letting those who wanted to escape simply leave. At this time, there were an average of 18 escapees per month. A considerable lack of vocational study was also noticed. The school had a total of 19 top administration changes

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