Detroit House of Correction

Detroit House of Correction
Interactive map of Detroit House of Correction
Location
StatusDemolished 2017
Opened1861
ClosedDecember 2004
Managed byMichigan Department of Corrections

The Detroit House of Correction (DeHoCo), opened in 1861, was owned and operated by the City of Detroit but initially accepted prisoners from across the state, including women. It was the first state-operated prison for female felons. The state later renovated the women’s division into the new Phoenix facility. In 1986, the Detroit House of Correction was transferred to state control, renamed the Western Wayne Correctional Facility, and functioned as a women’s prison for the remainder of its operation. It closed in December 2004, and all inmates and staff were transferred to the Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti.

History

Detroit House of Correction circa 1884 in Detroit's Eastern Market
Interior of the Detroit House of Correction in the late 1800s

The first Detroit House of Correction opened in 1861 near Detroit's Eastern Market.

In 1919, the city of Detroit purchased approximately 1,000 acres (400 ha) in Plymouth Township and Northville Township for approximately US$30 (equivalent to $557.1 in 2025) an acre to house a new Detroit House of Correction. A prison camp, with inmates sleeping in tents, was opened in 1920. A permanent US$2,500,000 (equivalent to $48,182,271 in 2025) maximum security facility was completed in 1930.

The city of Detroit sold a portion of the complex to the Michigan Department of Corrections in 1979 for US$1,600,000 (equivalent to $7,097,662 in 2025), and the remainder of the facility to the department in 1986 for US$6,700,000 (equivalent to $19,678,962 in 2025). The facility was then renamed to Western Wayne Correctional Facility and became a women's facility for the rest of its tenure. The 1930 building closed and sat abandoned since.

In the late 1980s, the warden of the facility took bribes in return for favors from inmates.

The facility closed in December 2004 and all inmates and staff were transferred to the Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti.[citation needed]

In January 2002, Kojaian Management Corporation purchased the property for US$50,000,000 (equivalent to $89,500,463 in 2025).

Detroit ownership

Plymouth Township acquired 323 acres (131 ha) of the property in September 2011 for US$606,150 (equivalent to $867,530 in 2025). The land was available for purchase by the government due to unpaid taxes.

In May 2016, the City of Detroit, is in ownership of 190 acres of the land Plymouth Township acquired. The courts[which?] agreed that under Michigan land law,[citation needed] the ownership of the property still resides with the City of Detroit.[citation needed] The other 133 acres, of the 323 Plymouth Township acquired, was correctly sold, by Detroit, in 2006, to a private developer, who did not pay their land taxes, and forfeited the land to the township. Just to the east of this property, the City of Detroit, owns 45 acres of the original site, where dilapidated prison structures still stood until they were demolished in the spring of 2017.

Notable inmates

Notable inmates during the prison's history included:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Petlewski, Kathy. "Detroit House of Correction - History". Plymouth District Library. Archived from the original on September 21, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Tippen, Molly (November 10, 2010). "No Business Prospects for Long-Abandoned Detroit House of Correction". Plymouth-Canton, Michigan Patch. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  3. ↑ Eagan, Paul (16 January 2019). "Inmate granted early release by Gov. Snyder, is suing prison officials". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  4. ↑ "Detroit disputes what it calls illegal sale of old jail site to Plymouth Township". Detroit Free Press. September 26, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2015.[permanent dead link]
  5. ↑ Lawrence, Eric D. (May 30, 2014). "Detroit's claim on old prison stalls major suburban development plans". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on May 21, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  6. ↑ Jachman, Matt (May 9, 2016). "Detroit's land fight with Plymouth Twp. ends after 3 years". Detroit Free Press. p. 4A.
  7. ↑ Clem, Darrell (25 Jan 2017). "Ex-prison site to be demolished in Plymouth Township". Hometown Life. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  8. ↑ Ralph Nelson (August 29, 1961). "Death Claims a Kindred Old Soul, 77". Detroit Free Press – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Founder of Guardian Angels Freed". The Galveston Daily News. Associated Press. April 26, 1984. p. 14. Retrieved July 27, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  10. ↑ Jenkins, Kevin R. (July 21, 2015). "'Belle Starr' closes out Big River Chautauqua". Daily Journal Online. Archived from the original on July 24, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2015.

42°23′35.4″N 83°31′15.7″W / 42.393167°N 83.521028°W / 42.393167; -83.521028