[1][2] Both prisons are located north of the Village of Gowanda, at the southern end of Erie County.

[1][2][3] In 1894, the Erie County Legislature passed an Act that gave rise to the Homeopathic State Hospital (later known as the "Gowanda Psychiatric Center," prior to being much later-converted into correctional facilities) in Gowanda and Collins, New York.

[4] Land purchased for the State Hospital by Erie County included 500 acres and was known as the "Taylor tract.

[1][2] In 1982, 40% of the original 500 acres of the Gowanda Psychiatric Center was utilized for the Collins Correctional Facility.

[1][2] Collins is unusual in that it contains two separate sections, with two mess halls, two medical facilities, two libraries, etc.