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So you think inmates in today's prisons have it too soft? A visit to the Huron County Historic Gaol will demonstrate how harsh treatment was a century and a half ago -and not-so-long ago too - the Gaol was in use until 1972. Even in the heat of summer there's something chilling about entering the thick stone walls of the gaol. Built in an octagonal shape with the central cell blocks surrounded by exercise yards, the gaol must have presented an intimidating entrance to prisoners. You enter through thick, high doors, then walk down a long, damp, stone hallway, footsteps echoing as you go. You come to another set of doors to the gaol itself where prisoners would have to wait until the gaoler admitted them and their guard. When the heavy door clanged behind them, prisoners must have wondered if the world as they knew it had ended. Certainly they faced an austere life inside the walls. The cells were cramped. When the gaol was first opened in 1841, the cells were constructed of hand-hewn timbers about 30 cm (one foot) square. By 1851 some of the cells had been lathed and plastered, presenting less fire hazard. Some of the cells have been stripped of the plaster to show the original condition. Originally the cells had double-oak bolted doors. Later these doors were replaced by the iron-barred doors that remained in use until the gaol closed. Some of the cells have now been equipped with wooden-bench beds similar to those originally in the building. These were replaced with metal cots in 1883 to prevent inmates setting their beds on fire. Also to prevent fire, prisoners weren't allowed mattresses, sleeping directly on the springs and getting a blanket to cover themselves. In the beginning, the gaoler lived right in the building near the prisoners in spartan rooms that were only slightly more comfortable than the prisoners'. Later a cottage was build for the gaoler in one of the exercise yards but in 1899 it was declared unfit by government inspectors. Life improved, at least for the gaoler and his family, in 1901 when the governor's house was built on the south-east side of the gaol. This house, with its dark ash woodwork, ornate oak furnishings, velvet drapes and lace curtains has been redecorated with turn-of-the-century items donated by local residents. Its relative luxury is a stark contrast to the privations endured by the prisoners only a few steps away. Construction on the gaol began in 1839 on land donated by the Canada Company, the development company that had opened the Huron Tract up for settlement. Most of the building was made from stone quarried from the nearby Maitland River. The walls were two feet thick with walls extending five feet below the surface and 18 feet high. Just in case an athletic prisoner could actually scale the tall walls, three feet of loose stone were piled on top of them to make it nearly impossible to climb over the top. Originally the gaol was not only to be the county gaol but the courthouse and seat of government for the new county, formed in 1841. The upper floor of the central hub was to be used as the court room and meeting place for the council. That plan didn't last long. Outdoor privies in the exercise yards soon had judges complaining the smell made it virtually impossible to hold court. They began lobbying for a new courthouse. County councillors, meanwhile, had pretty well abandoned the gaol from 1843 on, holding their meetings at Rattenbury's Hotel. The rooms set aside for the courtroom and council chambers were later used for prisoner overflow. Finally a new courthouse was built downtown in the centre of the market square in 1856. Despite its utilitarian design, the building has some interesting architectural details. A cupola tops the central hub, its windows filtering light down through a central spiral staircase to the floors below. Coal-oil lamps provided additional light until electrical lights were installed in 1896-87. Even with electricity, the building remained a gloomy spot, particularly if you were a prisoner in the cells. And in the early years, you didn't even have to be a criminal to spend time in this bleak building. Because of the lack of old age homes and hospitals, the aged and poor, the insane and even the infirm found themselves inside the unforgiving walls. In 1891 a man was committed for having "a sore finger". Among the thousands of nondescript petty thieves and drunkards who populated the gaol through most of its long history, there were a few celebrities. James Donnelly, father of the infamous Black Donnellys of Lucan spent time within the high walls in the early years, before his family was murdered and their home burned by vigilantes in the late 1800s. More recently, in 1959 the gaol was the place where 14-year-old Stephen Truscott awaited trial for the murder of schoolmate Lynn Harper. Later, after his conviction, he spent months in those cramped cells wondering if he would become the youngest person in Canada ever to be hanged, until his sentence was eventually commuted to life in prison. He spent 10 years in other jails before being released, then lived under a new identity for 30 years. Recently, however, he came out of hiding and was the feature of a national television show which questioned his guilt in the case. After the gaol was finally closed in 1972, one wall was nearly torn down to make room for a parking lot for the Huron-Perth Assessment Office next door but the public uproar convinced county councillors to preserve the integrity of the building and keep the wall intact. The building was turned over to a volunteer committee which operated it as a museum. Later it was turned over to the Huron County Museum as part of the four museums in Goderich along with the County Museum on North St., the Marine Museum at the harbour, and the Sky Harbour Aviation Museum at Sky Harbour airport. |
