it's theme time: early America

it's theme time: early America
Old Newgate drone photo, via https://ctvisit.com/listings/old-new-gate-prison-copper-mine

I am not feeling the Fourth of July at all– as my brother put it, "we're drugging the dog and doing nothing." But with the SHEAR meeting on the agenda for July, I am taking some time this month to spotlight early American carceral history.

Here in Connecticut, the Old New-Gate Prison & Copper Mine is a historic site that brings into view some of the challenges of this field as it melds archeological and scant archival evidence to make sense of fluid and experimental practices in the its institution's early history, such as the incarceration of PEOPLE, UNDERGROUND, IN A MINE. Yeah, you read that right!

This short documentary offers an overview of the site's history and demonstrates how local historians, archaeologists, state agencies, and community members are reckoning with its role in the establishment of carceral norms and practices that endure to the present.


interested in sharing your work through Carceral History? Email me at carceralhistory@gmail.com. Thanks for reading! -Melanie Newport, publisher