The Bowery Boys: New York City History The Tombs: Five Points' Notorious House of Detention
May 31, 2019
A deep dive into the grim history of a notorious Manhattan jail built atop the drained Collect Pond. They trace how poor landfill created Five Points and how an Egyptian‑styled mausoleum of a prison earned its ominous nickname. Stories include early executions, courtroom corruption under Tammany, daring escapes, and how successive jail buildings kept the same dark reputation.
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First Execution at the Tombs
- Edward Coleman was the first prisoner executed at the Tombs after he murdered his wife in 1838.
- The New York Evening Post described his calm walk to the gallows and post-mortem ‘‘galvanic experiments’’ performed on his body.
Collect Pond Created A Sinking Foundation
- Collect Pond was once New York's main freshwater source but became industrially polluted by tanneries and breweries.
- The pond was drained into a canal (future Canal Street) and poorly filled, leaving unstable, swampy soil that later caused building subsidence.
Wet Fill Doomed The Tombs' Structure
- Builders laid the Tombs' foundation on pine logs and spiles because the Collect Pond fill was too wet and springy.
- That unstable foundation caused chronic flooding, cracked walls, and sewage problems throughout the prison's life.
