Stories from the Past
The past speaks through first-person accounts, photographs, and official records. We sought out the silent stories and legacies of those who passed through these walls. Our questions were simple: Who were they? What traces did they leave? What truths can they teach us?
Pine Street Hotel
The title of Lois Anderson’s book comes from the informal name given to the jail by John D. Case, the second warden of the Bucks County Jail. Motivated by his philosophy of incarceration as rehabilitation, he called the jail the “Pine Street Hotel” in an attempt to reframe the jail as restorative, not punitive.
Prison Register
These registers recorded the names, biographical information, and criminal history of those incarcerated at the Bucks County Jail from 1895 to 1923. These ledger books reveal that people were incarcerated for “crimes” that are not longer illegal today. As we learned about these ledgers, we saw how the definition of criminality changes over time and what that says about our social and legal systems.
The Exhibit
Learn more about the Michener’s past through stories and original artifacts presented in the exhibition, Behind These Walls: Community Perspectives on our History, open through 11/24/2024.
Behind These Walls: Reckoning with Incarceration has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.
Visit The Exhibit
Behind These Walls: Community Perspectives on our History is on view through November 24, 2024.
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