It was not until 1870 that, after a preliminary meeting in Boston, officered by some of her most earnest citizens, a memorial was presented to the legislature, in which the need was set forth of better prisons for women, and of a reformatory discipline for all criminals. This was called “The Memorial of the Temporary Asylum for Discharged Female Prisoners in Dedham, and of the Springfield Home for Friendless Women and Children, and of others concurring with them.” The names of Whittier, Henry Wilson, Bishop Eastburn, and many others equally noble, were affixed, and the almost immediate result was the establishment of the Prison Commission of the state, and a few years later, the building of the separate prison for women at Sherborn. Thirty acres of land were purchased here, and the prison was placed upon a knoll, from which one of the finest views in the county may be had, a neighboring pond giving a full supply of pure water, and the facilities for drainage being excellent. The form chosen for building was a cross, with two more transverse sections, one at the front, and one for hospital purposes, at the rear. But forty-eight strong cells for the more refractory class were built, the majority occupying small, separate rooms, divided by brick partitions, and each owning a window. The basement has two large laundries, one for prison, the other for outside use, the latter bringing in a comfortable income toward the support of the prison. Over this laundry is the prison kitchen and bakery, the work in both being done by the prisoners, under supervision. Above this, in the third story, is the large hall used as a chapel, and a library adjoining it, while the second story contains two large work rooms, one for sewing, and the other for making chair bottoms. Sewing machines are in the first one, and here all the clothing for the prison is made, as well as a good deal for another institution. A school room is also on this floor, occupied six hours a day, the women going to it in classes, each class having an hour’s instruction a day. Here many take their first lessons in reading and writing; easy arithmetic and geography are also taught.
The prison has four divisions, for the classification of convicts, the three higher ones each containing what is known as a “privilege room,” the prisoners who have obeyed the rules being allowed to spend an hour each evening under the supervision of the matrons, before they are locked in for the night. Four cheerful dining rooms are provided, and unlike the county jails, where prisoners eat alone from a tin pan, the women gather, under the supervision of matrons, each with neat plate and basin, learning order and decorum, and in many cases having their first experience of clean and palatable food. The matrons have comfortable rooms, commanding a view of the corridors, and a private dining room and kitchen in the basement. A parlor on the second floor is also at their disposal, thirty matrons and assistants using it in such intervals of leisure as come.