COLLECTION 099 · SGC-99
New Haven · Connecticut
Two jail sites and a deadly workshop fire: a history of confinement, work and loss.
The jail involved in the April 13, 1910 fire was on Whalley Avenue. It was not the earlier jail where the Amistad survivors were held.
EXPLORE THE ORIGINAL GALLERIES
Follow these links to photographs held by their creators and collections.
The New Haven Register’s centennial remembrance includes the jail-fire story and accompanying illustrations. Open the publisher’s presentation for its images and credits.
New Haven RegisterView photographs at sourceCOLLECTION HISTORY
New Haven’s jail history moved across the city. The earlier jail beside the Green held the Amistad survivors in 1839–1840. A nineteenth-century county history describes a later building project on Whalley Avenue beginning in 1856, with the new jail occupied in 1857. Keeping those sites separate prevents two very different stories from being attached to the same building. [SGC99-S1]
On April 13, 1910, fire struck the Whalley Avenue jail’s workshop area. A contemporary newspaper report describes six firefighters dying as they fought the blaze. Workshops were part of the jail complex, bringing labor and confinement into the same physical setting. For those responding to the fire, the building’s barriers could turn a dangerous interior into a trap. [SGC99-S2]
The centennial retrospective remembers six firefighters killed and five seriously injured, and reproduces photographs of flames, the aftermath and a funeral. Those images remain with their publisher and can be opened from the source link below. They show why the fire belongs to the history of New Haven’s families and emergency services as well as the history of a jail. [SGC99-S3]
Early newspaper OCR can corrupt personal names and details. This edition does not turn an uncertain transcription into a definitive casualty list. The contemporary report and later memorial account are kept together so the event can be followed through both immediate reporting and later remembrance. [SGC99-S2]
The jail involved in the April 13, 1910 fire was on Whalley Avenue. It was not the earlier jail where the Amistad survivors were held.
THE SEARCHABLE CATALOG
Search includes catalog notes and the OCR text included with this edition. OCR may misread names or dates; use the original scan to verify a match.
SGC99-S1 · Historical sources · Source dates described in record
New Haven Jail & the Fire of 1910
Nineteenth-century county history records construction beginning in 1856 and occupation of the Whalley Avenue jail in 1857.
Read item & source notesSGC99-S2 · Historical sources · Source dates described in record
New Haven Jail & the Fire of 1910
Contemporary report of six firefighters killed in the New Haven county-jail workshop fire.
Read item & source notesSGC99-S3 · Historical sources · Source dates described in record
New Haven Jail & the Fire of 1910
2010 retrospective and historical photographs. The fire occurred April 13, 1910 on Whalley Avenue.
Read item & source notesSGC99-S4 · Historical sources · Source dates described in record
New Haven Jail & the Fire of 1910
The earlier jail held Amistad survivors from September 1839 to August 1840.
Read item & source notesSGC-PHOTO-LINK-007 · Photograph collections · Dates stated by source
New Haven Jail & the Fire of 1910
The New Haven Register’s centennial remembrance includes the jail-fire story and accompanying illustrations. Open the publisher’s presentation for its images and credits.
Read item & source notesExtract the ZIP and open START_HERE.html. It includes the catalog, selected images, acquired source text, credits and a searchable SQLite database. New photo additions are hosted in the SGC media library and require an internet connection; original bundled images remain available offline.
