Security class Medium Security Capacity 2,300 | Status Operational Phone +1 716-532-0177 Opened 1994 | |
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Address S Rd, Gowanda, NY 14070, USA Hours Open today · 9AM–8PMFriday9AM–8PMSaturday9AM–8PMSundayClosedMonday9AM–8PMTuesday9AM–8PMWednesday9AM–8PMThursday9AM–8PM District New York State Department Of Correctional Services School District | ||
The Gowanda Correctional Facility is a medium security prison for males located in Gowanda, New York, United States. The prison is located in the south part of Erie County in the Town of Collins. It is co-located with the Collins Correctional Facility, another medium security prison. Both prisons are located north of Village of Gowanda at the southern end of Erie County.
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History
In 1894, the Erie County Legislature passed an Act that gave rise to the Homeopathic State Hospital (later known as the "Gowanda Psychiatric Center," prior to being much later-converted into correctional facilities) in Gowanda and Collins, New York. Land purchased for the State Hospital by Erie County included 500 acres and was known as the "Taylor tract." When the State Care Act was effected in 1894, the land was transferred to the State of New York, which then conveyed it to the State Hospital. The correctional facility is situated along Taylor Hollow Road in Gowanda, with such road named for the farmer who owned the land that was purchased and used, originally, for the State Hospital.
The grounds and buildings of both the Gowanda Correctional Facility and the Collins Correctional Facility, therefore, were formerly the Gowanda Psychiatric Center. In 1982, 40% of the original 500 acres of the Gowanda Psychiatric Center was utilized for the Collins Correctional Facility. The Gowanda Correctional Facility was built using the remaining acreage and opened its doors in 1994. The two prisons are separated by a fence, and are administered independently. Gowanda Correctional Facility houses more than 2,300 inmates, and is the second-largest prison in New York State. Another source reported that the prison houses 1,750 inmates. It also features one of the largest sex offender counseling programs of the New York State prison systems.
Violence by Inmates
On February 5, 2014, nine inmates in a housing unit at the Gowanda Correctional facility attacked three corrections officers there. One officer was beaten unconscious by the inmates. He and another officer had concussions and additional injuries. The third officer was slightly injured.
Location
P.O. Box 350 South Road
Gowanda, New York 14070-0350