Mt. McGregor Correctional Facility
Encyclopedia
Mt. McGregor Correctional Facility is a medium security prison
for male inmates in Saratoga County
, New York
, USA. Before updating security, was called "Camp Walkaway" due to the number of breakouts.
The facility was a former sanitarium, taken over by New York State.
then bought the property and opened a more sumptuous resort at the end of a rail line. When the Hotel Balmoral burned in 1897, the resort faded in popularity.
The "Sanitarium on the Mountain" at Mount McGregor was opened in 1913 by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
for the benefit of its employees suffering from tuberculous. This sanitarium, fully staffed by doctors and a nursing staff, had a goal of restoring the health of all the company's employees. A labyrinth of underground passages used to transport the bodies of patients who died to the church and cerematorium which still exist.
After World War II, the sanitarium served as a facility for military veterans returning to civilian life. Local stories suggest Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner at one time looked into purchasing the property in the 1960s or early 1970s.
In the 1960's the facility was taken over by the State of New York as a school for the mentally retarded. At first the school was the Mount McGregor division of Rome State School and then became Wilton State School.
The facility was taken over by the New York State Department of Corrections in the 1970's.
, the last home of Ulysses S. Grant
, former president and army general, is on the grounds of the correctional facility. Grant spent the last weeks of his life there, finishing his memoirs.
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
for male inmates in Saratoga County
Saratoga County, New York
Saratoga County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 219,607. It is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county seat is Ballston Spa...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, USA. Before updating security, was called "Camp Walkaway" due to the number of breakouts.
The facility was a former sanitarium, taken over by New York State.
History
The peak, Mt. McGregor, was originally called "Palmertown Mountain," named after a local native tribe. It was renamed after Duncan McGregor, who purchased the land on a tax sale, who then constructed a small resort along with a restaurant for summer visitors. The Saratoga, Mount McGregor and Lake George RailroadSaratoga, Mount McGregor and Lake George Railroad
The Saratoga, Mount McGregor and Lake George Railroad was a narrow gauge railroad leading from North Broadway in Saratoga Springs, New York, USA. Construction was begun on March 17, 1882, and was completed on July 17 of the same year, for the purpose of conveying building materials and later...
then bought the property and opened a more sumptuous resort at the end of a rail line. When the Hotel Balmoral burned in 1897, the resort faded in popularity.
The "Sanitarium on the Mountain" at Mount McGregor was opened in 1913 by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, or MetLife, for short, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, with 90 million customers in over 60 countries...
for the benefit of its employees suffering from tuberculous. This sanitarium, fully staffed by doctors and a nursing staff, had a goal of restoring the health of all the company's employees. A labyrinth of underground passages used to transport the bodies of patients who died to the church and cerematorium which still exist.
After World War II, the sanitarium served as a facility for military veterans returning to civilian life. Local stories suggest Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner at one time looked into purchasing the property in the 1960s or early 1970s.
In the 1960's the facility was taken over by the State of New York as a school for the mentally retarded. At first the school was the Mount McGregor division of Rome State School and then became Wilton State School.
The facility was taken over by the New York State Department of Corrections in the 1970's.
Grant Cottage
Grant Cottage State Historic SiteGrant Cottage State Historic Site
Grant Cottage State Historic Site, on the slope of Mount McGregor in Wilton, New York is an Adirondack mountain cottage first owned by banker Joseph W. Drexel. It was the site where Ulysses S. Grant died in 1885, and is a New York State Historic Site....
, the last home of Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
, former president and army general, is on the grounds of the correctional facility. Grant spent the last weeks of his life there, finishing his memoirs.