Green’s Dictionary of Slang

Springs, the n.

[the running springs found on Blackwell’s Island in 18C]

(US Und.) Blackwell’s Island prison, New York City.

Show quotations
N.-Y. Daily Trib. 26 July 2/5: Justice Osborne committed on Saturday 28 male and female vagrants for the term of six months each to Blackwell’s Island, or as the thieves term it, ‘the Springs.’.