Village Squire, 1976-06, Page 12HISTORIC HURON COUNTY GAOL
Thousands now tour the building that most
people tried hard to avoid for 130 years
At one side of the octagonal jail structure the Governor's house joins the rest of the prison. Inside
the contrast is even more stunning.
10, VILLAGE SQUIRE/JUNE 1976
The argument rages periodically: is prison
a deterent to crime? If any prison ever was, it
is the Huron County Jail in Goderich.
More than 15,000 persons toured the jail
last year its first year as a national historic
monument. It definitely does seem historic,
but when one considers that only four years
ago prisoners were being kept in the budding,
it is even more frightening.
Even in summer there is a chilling feeling
looking at the dull, barren, ,damp -looking
walls of the jail cells. One can perhaps picture
people inhabiting the building in 1841 when it
first opened, but in the enlightened period
130 years later, it seems barbaric. Yet some
things, like a notice on the wall informing
prisoners of their right to call for a public
defender to appear with them in court are
timely reminders that this building is part of
the near past as well as the early history of
this part of Ontario.
The small cells were furnished only with a
cot with no mattress, and one grey blanket.
Bathroom facilities were far from private, but
actually they were quite an improvement
from the early days of the jail when privies
were set up in the yards to serve when the
need arose. The indoor plumbing didn't
arrive until the 1920's.
Some of the progression in the interior of
the jail (or gaol as it was originally called), is
shown by the rstoration work that has been
carried out this year under a Local Initiatives
project.
The building was erected between 1839 and
1842.'Before Huron could become a separate
district including Perth and Bruce it had to
have its own courthouse and jail. So in 1838
William Geary began clearing the land and
work began building the gaol. The estimated
cost was 2680 pounds sterling but it rose to
4868 and this, and an argument over the
incline of the tower roof led the architect,
Thomas Young to leave the project before it
was completed.
The walls were made of stone from the
Maitland River quarry, a full two feet thick.
Dan Lizars brought the stone for the copings
from Port Huron.
Since the district needed a courthouse and
there was no money for one, the plan for a
chapel in the central tower was changed to
become the courthouse and the meeting place
of the county council.
TI:ie first meeting of the county council took