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| construction_ended =
 
| construction_ended =
 
| opened = 1898
 
| opened = 1898
| closed = 2021
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| closed =
 
| demolished =
 
| demolished =
| current_status = [[Closed Institution|Closed]]
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| current_status = [[Preserved Institution|Preserved]]
 
| building_style = [[Echelon Plan Institutions|Echelon Plan]]
 
| building_style = [[Echelon Plan Institutions|Echelon Plan]]
 
| architect(s) = Esenwein & Johnson
 
| architect(s) = Esenwein & Johnson
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GSH had open and closed wards. Some wards were like dorm rooms where patients could not leave. Other wards were two-to-a-room. And other wards in other buildings had patients who could leave during the day and then had to return at night. Curfew times would vary according to the ward. The overall issue was everyone’s safety at all times and that all patients had things to do. Idle patients meant nothing but trouble for the  hospital, the ward, staff, and the group of patients involved. Patients with assigned work duties would go to work.
 
GSH had open and closed wards. Some wards were like dorm rooms where patients could not leave. Other wards were two-to-a-room. And other wards in other buildings had patients who could leave during the day and then had to return at night. Curfew times would vary according to the ward. The overall issue was everyone’s safety at all times and that all patients had things to do. Idle patients meant nothing but trouble for the  hospital, the ward, staff, and the group of patients involved. Patients with assigned work duties would go to work.
  
By the 1970s, because of the Rockefeller Drug Laws, the prison population began exploding in numbers, forcing officials to look wherever they could for housing facilities. Gowanda Psychiatric was one of these facilities. When it was discovered that drugs were much cheaper than hospital asylums,Gowanda closed very slowly over a period of time. In 1979 GSH lost its farm program and more of its general population who worked on the farm. The signs of change that would happen in the care of the mentally ill led to attempts at reducing costs. In 1982 the state took over 40 percent of the hospital grounds and began to convert the area to a medium security prison. The rest of Gowanda Psychiatric Center (then the new name for Gowanda State Hospital) had been scheduled to shut down by the beginning of 1991, but it remained open for a couple of more years. In 1993 the state spent $2.9 million to keep the staff and only 14 patients on the premises as part of their plan to keep the facility available for future use. This plan failed when the issue became a fiscal red herring. The closing of the state hospital stretched over many years and was met by protests first against job losses and later against having a prison in the area, despite the additional new job possibilities.
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By the 1970s, because of the Rockefeller Drug Laws, the prison population began exploding in numbers, forcing officials to look wherever they could for housing facilities. Gowanda Psychiatric was one of these facilities. When it was discovered that drugs were much cheaper than hospital asylums,Gowanda closed very slowly over a period of time. In 1979 GSH lost its farm program and more of its general population who worked on the farm. The signs of change that would happen in the care of the mentally ill led to attempts at reducing costs. In 1982 the state took
 +
over 40 percent of the hospital grounds and began to convert the area to a medium security prison. The rest of Gowanda Psychiatric Center (then the new name for Gowanda State Hospital) had been scheduled to shut down by the beginning of 1991, but it remained open for a couple of more years. In 1993 the state spent $2.9 million to keep the staff and only 14 patients on the premises as part of their plan to keep the facility available for future use. This plan failed when the issue became a fiscal red herring. The closing of the state hospital stretched over many years and was met by protests first against job losses and later against having a prison in the area, despite the additional new job possibilities.
  
 
In 1982 the state converted 40 percent of Gowanda State Hospital into a medium security prison and named it Collins Correctional Institution (two separate prisons I and II). In 1994, the Department of Corrections of the State of New York opened a second prison which is located on the state hospital grounds adjacent to Collins Correctional Institution and named it Gowanda Correctional Institution. Gowanda houses 2,300 male prisoners. The ratio of employees to prisoner is 1 employee for every 2.3 prisoners. Staff correctional officers typically work for a range of 12 to 25 years for the institution and live locally. The prisons are separated by a fence and are administered as separate entities that share only heat, water, and power from the old Gowanda State Hospital power plant.  
 
In 1982 the state converted 40 percent of Gowanda State Hospital into a medium security prison and named it Collins Correctional Institution (two separate prisons I and II). In 1994, the Department of Corrections of the State of New York opened a second prison which is located on the state hospital grounds adjacent to Collins Correctional Institution and named it Gowanda Correctional Institution. Gowanda houses 2,300 male prisoners. The ratio of employees to prisoner is 1 employee for every 2.3 prisoners. Staff correctional officers typically work for a range of 12 to 25 years for the institution and live locally. The prisons are separated by a fence and are administered as separate entities that share only heat, water, and power from the old Gowanda State Hospital power plant.  
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Gowanda Correctional Institution opened in 1994 with the transfer of inmates to the new facility. It was located across the road from Collins Correctional Institution to the north and covered additional buildings and grounds of the former state hospital on 40 acres. 2 towers of six stories, known as A and B buildings, were built in 1957. They were built parallel, are identical in appearance and are connected by a four story crossover that contains offices, classrooms and a large kitchen which delivers meals to the entire facility. Gowanda has 33 cafeterias to receive food. Underground tunnels from the old state hospital are used to deliver food. East of the towers is a one-story brick building in the shape of a cross that was built in 1933. It has classrooms, a commissary, and maintenance areas. West of the towers is a one story building built in 1985, which is used for a gymnasium, a library, and an employee cafeteria. South of the towers are two identical three-story brick buildings, built in 1933. Each has a long wing jutting out of the four corners. The buildings are named C and D and are used to house inmates, special inmates such as sex offenders.
 
Gowanda Correctional Institution opened in 1994 with the transfer of inmates to the new facility. It was located across the road from Collins Correctional Institution to the north and covered additional buildings and grounds of the former state hospital on 40 acres. 2 towers of six stories, known as A and B buildings, were built in 1957. They were built parallel, are identical in appearance and are connected by a four story crossover that contains offices, classrooms and a large kitchen which delivers meals to the entire facility. Gowanda has 33 cafeterias to receive food. Underground tunnels from the old state hospital are used to deliver food. East of the towers is a one-story brick building in the shape of a cross that was built in 1933. It has classrooms, a commissary, and maintenance areas. West of the towers is a one story building built in 1985, which is used for a gymnasium, a library, and an employee cafeteria. South of the towers are two identical three-story brick buildings, built in 1933. Each has a long wing jutting out of the four corners. The buildings are named C and D and are used to house inmates, special inmates such as sex offenders.
  
The Cuomo administration announced Dec. 21, 2020, that it would close Gowanda Correctional Facility, along with one in Watertown and the annex at Clinton Correctional, a maximum-security state prison in Dannemora. The state gave the facilities 90 days before closing each of them at the end of March 2021.
 
 
==Notes==
 
 
*This hospital received its first 47 patients on August 9th, 1898 and another 54 before the end of that year.
 
*This hospital received its first 47 patients on August 9th, 1898 and another 54 before the end of that year.
  
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A small cemetery used between 1898 & 1994 contains around 500 graves.
 
A small cemetery used between 1898 & 1994 contains around 500 graves.
  
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==Links & Additional Information==
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*[http://prisontalk.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-82946.html Gowanda Correctional Facility Information]
  
  
 
[[Category:New York]]
 
[[Category:New York]]
[[Category:Closed Institution]]
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[[Category:Preserved Institution]]
 
[[category:Echelon Plan]]
 
[[category:Echelon Plan]]
 
[[Category:Institution With A Cemetery]]
 
[[Category:Institution With A Cemetery]]
 
[[Category:Past Featured Article Of The Week]]
 
[[Category:Past Featured Article Of The Week]]

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