History and Genealogy Reference Unit
The Wethersfield State Prison opened in September 1827 with the transfer of eighty-one prisoners from Newgate Prison. Modeled after the state-of-the-art Auburn State Prison in New York, Wethersfield provided solitary confinement for the prisoners and facilities for various workshops. In 1963, all prisoners from Wethersfield were transferred to a new State Prison at Somers and two years later Wethersfield State Prison was demolished.
The Warrants of Commitment, 1800-1903, contain the name of the prisoner, any known aliases, the crime, sentence, court, and date of incarceration. This information can be used to determine the probable location of court records relating to the individual prisoners.
People may request a copy of a file by contacting the staff of the History & Genealogy Unit by telephone (860) 757-6580 or email. When requesting a copy of a record, please include at least the name of the individual and date.
NOTICE: All Connecticut State Library indexes have been migrated to Connecticut Open Data; the previous indexes will no longer be available.
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