The plans of the St. Cloud reformatory show a building in the form of a Greek cross. The central square will have rounded towers at the corners, and will rise 124 feet from the ground. From three sides will extend out long wings about 55 feet wide by 200 long, four stories high, and rising 52 feet from the ground, which will contain the cell rooms to accommodate 400 convicts at the front. (The Record and Union, Rochester, Friday, January 27, 1888, Page 1)
Architect (J. H.) Stevens (of St. Paul) said that by some changes in the plans the estimate could be cut down almost $33,000. And he was instructed to use only granite for the foundation and brick for the remainder of the building, and to have the plans ready for the next meeting of the board, which will be held on April 17. (The Minneapolis Tribune, Thursday, April 5, 1888, Page 3)
D. E. Myers, superintendent of the St. Cloud reformatory, was in the city yesterday. (The Minneapolis Tribune, Tuesday, May 8, 1888, Page 3)
At the meeting of the board of managers of the St. Cloud reformatory, held at Hon. Gordon E. Cole’s office yesterday, the members present were Mayor Smith, H. S. Griswold, G. W. Holland and Hon. Gordon E. Cole. Contracts were awarded and bonds approved for the new reformatory as follows: George Winding, of Milwaukee, asphalt floors, $1,719; to Haugh, Ketchem & Co., of Indianapolis, jail work, $7,974; structural iron work, $23,437; St. Paul Roofing and Cornice company, roofing and galvanized iron work, $5,194.50; Nels Anderson, St. Cloud, excavating, 24 cents per cubic yard; James Carlisle, Minneapolis, stone and brick work, $42,987; G. W. Smith, Minneapolis, carpenter and joiner work, $6,370; Hussey & Thursdale, St. Cloud, painting and glazing, $1,240. (Saint Paul Daily Globe, Saturday, May 26, 1888, Page 2)
The prison reformatory building at St. Cloud will be completed next week. (The Minneapolis Tribune, Thursday, September 26, 1889, Page 1)
The site of the reformatory was selected at St. Cloud solely that the inmates might be profitably and beneficially employed upon the quarries. (The Minneapolis Tribune, Tuesday, January 7, 1890, Page 3)
The state reformatory, located at St. Cloud, is an experiment whose development will be watched with intense interest by those interested in prison reform. The institution was opened on the 15th day of last October, and, having an experience of less than a year, it is scarcely time yet to tell how much of a success it is destined to be. …The reformatory building is a credit to the state, and enjoys the singular distinction of being about the only public building in the state that is first-class in construction and in all its appointments. The building sits on an eminence on the east side of the river, overlooking the city of St. Cloud, and from which a fine view of all the surrounding country can be had. In time, when the grounds have been properly improved and when the additional necessary buildings have been erected, the reformatory site will be made a charming spot. This is a new feature in prison building, for the old idea was to make a prison as repulsive-looking as possible. The construction of the building itself is an improvement on any prison buildings to be found in the Northwest. The best methods for ventilating, heating and lighting have been introduced. The air is as sweet and the interior aspect as cheerful as is to be found in the ordinary home. There is every appearance of neatness and cleanliness in the dining hall and cook room. Instead of the rough board table and the serving of victuals in tin dishes, as is the common practice in prison dining halls, a clean white cloth is spread on the table, earthenware dishes are provided, chairs are set at the table, and the meal is served pretty much the same way as would be done in the ordinary boarding house. This way of treating human beings as human beings, and of relieving convicts of the unnecessary humiliation so frequently imposed, is calculated to soften rather than harden the criminal. The sleeping apartments are a decided improvement on the customary prison cell. They are larger and lighter; in fact, each apartment is about as large and as comfortable as some of the bed rooms in hotels which pass for first-class. There is nothing unnecessarily ornate about the cells or dormitories, but they are altogether comfortable. Chapel services and school exercises are important features of the reformatory discipline. There are night schools which all the convicts are required to attend, where the course of instruction is about the same as in the common free schools. The school exercises are suspended every Wednesday night, when a lecture or some other profitable entertainment is substituted. There is a free library to which the convicts have access, and are permitted to have certain hours to themselves for reading and study. The graded system is another important feature in the reformatory work. There are three grades, and the grade to which the convict belongs can be distinguished by the style of his clothes. When admitted to the reformatory each convict is assigned to the second grade, and is thus given the opportunity to work up or down according to his ambition and deportment. If he passes the first month without a black mark against him he is promoted to the first grade, and remains there as long as his deportment is good. If he belongs to the first grade and is guilty of a gross breach of discipline he is reduced to one of the lower grades, according to the enormity of his offense, and must have a six months’ clear record before he can be restored to the first grade. Convicts of the first grade are accorded more privileges and enjoy more benefits than those of the lower grades. After a continuous service in the first grade for a certain length of time, they are released on parole, which is a virtual suspension of their sentence and a restoration to citizenship. Convicts of the first grade receive 12 1/3 cents a day for their labor; convicts of the second class receive 9 cents per day, while convicts of the third grade get nothing and are subjected to harsher treatment than the others. This system has been adopted to stimulate the convicts to better deportment, and thus facilitate the work of reformation which is sought to be accomplished. The wisdom of it is too apparent to need discussion. …There are now over one hundred convicts in this institution, all of them boys and young men ranging in age from sixteen to twenty-five. An evidence of the good physical care taken of these people is that during the nearly one year of their confinement there has not been a patient in the hospital, nor a case of sickness requiring the services of a doctor. (Saint Paul Daily Globe, Sunday, September 21, 1890, Page 4)