Southeast corner of King St. and Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard, Kingston
Commemoration
Opened on 1 June 1835, Kingston Penitentiary is Canada’s oldest reformatory prison. Its layout - an imposing front gate leading to a cross shaped cellblock, with workshops to the rear - was the model for other federal prisons for more than a century. Its main structures constitute an impressive grouping of inmate-built 19th-century classical architecture in local stone.
Kingston Penitentiary represented a significant departure from the way society had dealt with its criminals. Previously, jails were used primarily ass places to hold convicts awaiting execution, banishment or public humiliation. The penitentiary imposed a severe regime designed to reform the inmate through reflection, hard work and the fear of punishment. “KP” employed the congregate system in first developed in Auburn, New York, where inmates lived in small cells but worked together from dawn to dusk, all under a rigidly enforced rule of silence. Kingston Penitentiary stands as a powerful symbol of this country’s commitment to the maintenance of law and order.
Background
Kingston and its surrounding communities are home to many past and present penal institutions. These include Joyceville, Collins Bay, Kingston Prison for Women, Millhaven and Bath.
Today Kingston Penitentiary holds no prisoners. It is the Correctional Services of Canada Museum.
It is curious to note that before confederation Kingston was both the capital of Canada and the home to its major penal institution. The government left but the jails remained.