In 1896, Essex County officials designated 325 acres of land as the new location of the Essex County Asylum for the Insane. Located in what was then Verona and is now Cedar Grove, the facility housed mentally ill patients who required daily care. The site was selected due to its remote, high altitude location, which, […]
Essex County Jail Annex / NJ
Originally constructed in 1862 to hold Confederate prisoners of war, the Essex County Jail Annex functioned as a state penitentiary for many years before eventually being replaced by a new facility to alleviate overcrowding. The penitentiary was largely self-sufficient. As late as the 1970’s inmates still tended to apple and peach orchards on the grounds, […]