Incarceration. Merely a word, but a word with so much meaning. To some it is a word saturated with discipline and pleasing because it’s a means to control those individuals that are in need of control. It’s harbinger of rehabilitation that is capable of keeping the people living safely and comfortably without fear. For others it is a word that is feared, painful and distasteful. But there was a time when a gentleman in Concord received a little celebrity status. He was the very first prisoner, a long time ago.
Before we delve into that incarcerated individual from well over a century ago, let us look back at the history of incarceration here in New Hampshire and certainly in the capital region.
During the Colonial Era and before we engaged in the Revolutionary War there was a system in place to discipline those that did not follow the rules. Our ancestors did not incarcerate the people that disobeyed, but shamed them and subjected them to corporal punishment. There were jails in some towns but they were few and not quite as elaborate as the prisons we see today.
Our ancestors invoked capital punishment when needed. If you murdered someone, the British Magistrate responsible for the area would conduct a ruling. If you were guilty of this terrible crime, you were executed. If your crime was less, you might be subjected to public shaming by being placed in the town square in stocks. If your crime fell between the really bad and the not-so-bad status, you would be sentenced to corporal punishment such as whipping. Those ancestors of ours were certainly direct and always to the point. This approach worked quite well until the eighteenth century arrived and people felt badly about the existing system of managing people that did not behave.
The late eighteenth century brought people known as reformers to the table. People that felt there should be a more humane approach to punishment. The Quakers had a very large influence in reforming people rather than punishing them in the pre-revolutionary war method. This humane approach created construction of jails, solitary confinement and hard labor to allow the prisoners to repent and think about the wrong they had done.
As the Civil War approached in the latter part of the nineteenth century, the incarcerated were utilizing the prisoners in positions of labor to establish a profit. In the New Hampshire area we found prisoners working on granite fabrication that was quarried up on Rattlesnake Hill in Concord and delivered to the prison to be worked. Granite building blocks and curbing were popular projects for the incarcerated and the quarry owners paid the state for the work. As the twentieth century started, there was a program at the New Hampshire State Prison in Concord responsible for furniture manufacturing. Tables and chairs were popular and purchased by many residents of Concord at a very affordable price.
A couple of notable events occurred in the Progressive Era with the advent of probation, parole and limited sentencing for specific crimes. Congress passed the Three Prisons Act in 1891, creating the federal prison system. In 1930, the Federal Bureau of Prisons was established to keep all prisons in America operating with common rules.
Now that we have reviewed the history of incarceration, I bring you back to that notable gentleman regarded by some as a celebrity. Concord boasted a small jail on Main Street and a solitary jail cell in the early 1800s. As the need for incarceration grew with the population, a jail was constructed on the present-day site of Concord High School.
This location was owned by Merrimack County and sold to the City of Concord in 1925. Concord promptly demolished the old jail to construct the Concord High School we see today. Concord was also home to the old granite New Hampshire State Prison. It was situated on the outskirts of the populated town, between the present-day Tremont and Beacon streets on the lower east end. Merrimack County also operated a county farm where some incarcerated people were kept and rehabilitated working on the farm.
As you can see, there were many approaches in many locations. The need for structure was prevalent and our ancestors took steps to establish key locations that offered room for additional cells in the future. The old granite New Hampshire State Prison between Tremont and Beacon streets was closed and all prisoners were relocated to the new brick prison on North State Street, the prison we see today. Merrimack County constructed the Merrimack County House of Correction in Boscawen, New Hampshire.
It was the new Merrimack County House of Correction that told of their first prisoner. His name was John Earl Davis. His crime was simple enough — he was charged with “exacting chauffeur services from Arthur Madison of Concord.” With his status for this crime, he was indeed the very first prisoner in the Merrimack County House of Correction in Boscawen.
A crime is a crime. John Earl Davis did his time, saw his name in the local newspaper where the county boasted he was the very first prisoner. I do hope Mr. Davis learned his lesson, was rehabilitated and left his life of crime in his past. Perhaps he did, perhaps he didn’t … but for just a brief moment he lived as a celebrity up in Boscawen.