It is about 30 miles 48 km north of Midtown Manhattan on the east bank of the Hudson River. It holds about 1, inmates as of , [ 3 ] and housed the execution chamber for the State of New York for a period, with the final execution there occurring in ; instead Green Haven Correctional Facility had the execution chamber by the late 20th Century. The name "Sing Sing" derives from the Sintsink Native American tribe from whom the New York colony purchased the land in , [ 5 ] and was formerly the name of the village.
In , the prison's name was changed to Ossining Correctional Facility , but it reverted to its original name in Sing Sing was the fifth prison constructed by New York state authorities. Lynds spent months researching possible locations for the prison, considering Staten Island , the Bronx , and Silver Mine Farm, an area in the town of Mount Pleasant on the banks of the Hudson River.
By May, Lynds had decided to build a prison on Mount Pleasant, near and thus named after a small village in Westchester County named Sing Sing, whose name came from the Wappinger Native American words sinck sinck , which translates to 'stone upon stone'. On their arrival on May 14, the site was "without a place to receive them or a wall to enclose them"; "temporary barracks, a cook house, carpenter and blacksmith's shops" were rushed to completion.
When it was opened in , [ 13 ] it was considered a model prison because it turned a profit for the state. Lynds employed the Auburn system , which imposed absolute silence on the prisoners; the system was enforced by whipping and other punishments. Seward and the president of the board of inspectors, John Edmonds in order to get him removed from his position. Luckey also created a religious library in the prison, with the purpose of teaching correct moral principles.
In , the New York Prison Association was inaugurated to monitor state prison administration. The Association was made up of reformers interested in the rehabilitation of prisoners through humane treatment. Eliza Farnham obtained a position in charge of the women's ward at Sing Sing largely on the recommendation of these reformers.
