East Jersey State Prison - History

History

In 1895, the New Jersey Legislature voted to establish the state’s first reformatory. A year later, construction began at Rahway on state property known as Edgar Farm. The prison opened in 1901 and originally housed male offenders between the ages of 16 and 30 who were first-time offenders.

The first superintendent, J. E. Heg, served only a year. He was succeeded by Joseph W. Martin who led the institution until his death in 1909. Martin was succeeded by Dr. Frank Moore, until he retired in 1929.

The administration building, cell houses, schoolrooms, chapel, shops, and other buildings were surrounded by a large wall encompassing 21 acres (85,000 m2). The entire prison was surrounded by hundreds of acres of farmland that the inmates worked. By 1908, there were two four-tiered cell houses. One cell house contained 256 cells measuring 9’ x 5’ x 8.6’, while the other had 384 cells that were only 7.1’ x 5’ x 8’. A 1928 inspection reported that the cells were equipped “with a fair quality of toilet and lavatory.”