Thomas Mott Osborne - Auburn, NY
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 56.003 W 076° 33.960
18T E 372218 N 4754606
A monument honoring the pioneer of prison reform Thomas Mott Osborn is located in front of the police station at the corner of Corner of the east bound Arterial Road and North Street in Auburn, NY.
Waymark Code: WMWAYG
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 08/05/2017
Views: 1
A 6' high bronze sculpture of Thomas Mott Osborne stands on a 4.5' high by 4' square granite base. Thomas Mott Osborne is depicted wearing a three piece suit and a tie. He has a coat draped over his extended left forearm and a book in his left hand. He is holding shackles in his right hand. At his feet are 23 tiny figures of prisoners depicting various activities of prison life.
The sculpture was created by Vincenzo Miserendino and cast at the Kunst Foundry.It was installed in 1930. Around the base are various positions he held during his life.
The front of the base is inscribed:
THOMAS
MOTT
OSBORNE
1859-1926
PROPHET AND PIONEER
OF
PRISON REFORM
On the left side is the inscription:
MEMBER OF AUBURN
BOARD OF EDUCATION
1885-1891
1893-1896
On rear of base is inscribed:
MAYOR
OF
AUBURN
1903-1906
(On the right side of base is inscribed:
WARDEN
SING-SING PRISON
1914-1916
COMMANDING OFFICER
U.S. NAVAL PRISON,
PORTSMOUTH
1917-1920
Thomas Mott Osborne was born on September 23, 1859 in Auburn, NY. He graduated from Harvard University with honors in 1884. After serving at several municipal positions he was selected in 1907 by Governor Charles Evans Hughes to serve as upstate commissioner on the New York's first Public Service Commission. In this capacity he would often travel in disguise to gain first-hand information about issues of public safety. In 1913 he was appointed by New York Governor William Sulzer as chairman of a the State Commission on Prison Reform. in disguise he began six days of imprisonment in the Auburn prison. He recorded his experiences in the book Within Prison Walls published in 1914. He became the country's most prominent prison reformer of his era.
In 1916 Osborne served on a commissioned reporting on conditions at the Portsmouth Naval Prison in Kittery, Maine. Once again he suggested a number of prison reforms, denounced degrading uniforms and absurd procedures. Through his books and speeches he helped end many of the prisoner abuses common in U.S. prisons at the time. He died on October 20, 1926, in Auburn, NY.