The Timeline: 1859

Originally, when the prison was first built in 1833, the left half of the prison was occupied by the governor and his family, it doubled as his living quarters as well as his workplace. In 1859, an extension on the left side of the prison was created. It is a two-story apartment-like set up that was attached to the prison and was used as the governor’s residence. Typically, the in-resident governors lived here with their entire family. 

Their wives were usually matrons of the female cell blocks or the head nurse and would be paid a living wage for her contributions to running the jail. The children of the families were typically kept as far away from the prison as possible due to concerns about the actions of the violent inmates. The daughter of the last live-in governor was actually sent away to a boarding school out of fear from threats she was receiving from one of the inmates. 

In 1971, the last live-in resident retired, and the province of Ontario bought the jail and instated a superintendent who could live elsewhere and travel into work. The extension has been used for many different things since then, including the tourism office for SDG Counties.