Commemoration
In 1808 the provincial government authorized the erection of a court house and gaol in Elizabethtown (Brockville) to serve the District of Johnstown created ten years earlier. By 1811 a brick structure had been built here on land donated by William Buell, the founder of Brockville. It was replaced in 1824 by a larger building which remained the judicial and administrative centre of the region until the present court house was completed in 1843. Prominently situated at the head of the public green, this imposing Neo-classical structure was designed by the noted Toronto architect John George Howard and constructed by Benjamin Chaffey, a local contractor. Subsequently enlarged and renovated, it retains the arrangement of prison and court facilites so effectively integrated in the original plan.
Background
While the district of Johnstown retained the connection with the early Loyalist leader, John Johnson, growing communities with expanding economies, such as Brockville, were eclipsing the small, agricultural communities, such as the village of Johnstown.