Fred C. Nelles Youth Correctional Facility

Fred C. Nelles Youth Correctional Facility

Location	Whittier, California
Coordinates	33.975974°N 118.050982°W / 33.975974; -118.050982
Status	Closed
Opened	1891 (1891)
Closed	2004 (2004)
Former name	Whittier State School Nelles School for Boys

Fred C. Nelles Youth Correctional Facility was a youth prison in Whittier, California. It closed down in 2004. Since then it has been abandoned. The show, "The Othersiders," just visited the facility and described it as haunted.

History

The facility opened in the late 19th Century as a reform school for boys and girls. Its original name was the Whittier State School. In the early 20th century, the State School had some of the best manual training and music programs in the state, and was a perennial football rival of Whittier High School.

Some of the ghostly reports are that you can hear girls laughing in the chapel and bangs in the gym and garage. Also Sanford Clark was sentenced there for 5 years.

Land controversy

In 2006, the City Council lost a bid for the now-closed Fred C. Nelles Youth Correctional Facility. The city and the state disagreed on the price of the Nelles property and the state put it up for bid, eventually selecting Meruelo Maddux Properties of Los Angeles. However, before the company could purchase the property, the State of California unlisted the property and it was designated as one of a handful of potential sites for a new men's prison. Plans for this were part of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's master plan to build more prisons across California. Then, Robert Sillen, the former federal receiver in charge of prison health care, placed Nelles on a list of seven sites that could be used for a new regional or mental health prison hospital.

Sale

The new receiver Clark Kelso released the 73-acre property for sale. The state Department of General Services accepted bids to purchase the property in November 2009 and has selected Brookfield Homes, a national developer. to develop the property. Negotiations must be completed before a final deal will go to the state Public Works Board for approval.