New Book Explores the History of Morganza Pennsylvania’s Reform School

Feb. 26, 2014 - PRLog -- Releasing on February 17, 2014 is the next book in Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series Morganza: Pennsylvania’s Reform School.  The book by local author Christopher R. Barraclough expands on the history of Pennsylvania’s first state owned and operated reform school for juvenile delinquents.

In this new pictorial history, more than 200 vintage images share the stories from one of Pennsylvania’s first juvenile correction institutions.  The book features images and captions sharing information on how the institute used many methods to try and reform juvenile delinquents. Morganza has long been a draw for historical researchers, urban explorers, ghost hunters and others interested to learn more about those who lived and worked there.

As seen in the images, Morganza can easily be identified by its administration building capped by a striking copper cupola, located prominently just off Interstate 79 in Cecil Township. Its distinctive architecture was also featured in the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs. Over the years, Morganza underwent several name changes. Standing as a containment campus for delinquent youths for just over 90 years, it later functioned as a facility to aid the mentally handicapped until its closure in 2000. Author Christopher Barraclough collected firsthand knowledge by interviewing people who had worked in the facility and compiling their private photographs.  He hopes to preserve the memory of Morganza which is now the site of a business park.

Highlights of Morganza: Pennsylvania’s Reform School include:

•Information on the different methods that boys and girls were taught in the correctional facility.
•Stories and information collected from the Pennsylvania reform school’s reports to the state.
•Images of the transformation of the Morganza building over time.

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665 or online.

Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States.  Our mission is to make history accessible and meaningful through the publication of books on the heritage of America’s people and places.  Have we done a book on your town?  Visit www.arcadiapublishing.com.