The French-Ontarian community of L’Orignal, Ontario, on Friday celebrated the bicentennial of its courthouse and former prison with a rite of illumination of the historic building in the middle of the night.
The building opened in 1825, a year before the founding of Bytown, which became Ottawa, making it the oldest building in the united counties of Prescott and Russell.
It is also the oldest prison and courthouse in Ontario, according to Louise Bédard, president of the former L’Orignal prison.
“The Palace of Justice is the oldest and still functional. And let me tell you that it is completely functional,” he told CBC.
“Just the record for next summer, it’s full,” he told CBC.
At least five offenders were executed by hanging in jail, the first in 1883 and the last in 1933, according to the former L’Orignal prison.
While the courthouse remains operational, the jail — which was the only Francophone correctional facility in Ontario — closed in 1998.
It has since reopened as a museum, and the interior remains as it was when the last prisoner left.
“The beds are still there, the bars, the heavy metal doors. When you close those doors, it’s a bang every time,” said Bédard.
Built in a neo-sensible flavor with a unique orange roof and dome, the historic building is a landmark in the village of 1,500 inhabitants, which is now a component of the canton of Champlain.
L’Orignal, which means moose in French, is on the Ottawa River, 90 kilometers east of the capital.
The village was already well established when the criminal built it, as it was once one of two lordships granted by the King of France in present-day Ontario.
Following the creation of Upper Canada, L’Orignal was chosen as the district town for Ottawa District, with its location on the Ottawa River transport route being a key factor, Bédard said.
“It is the logical position to install a criminal because the immigrants went downstream,” he said. “It is the first position of the government that they would see and know that everything is organized. “
The museum will open again for the season after May 1, said Bédard, tours in French and English.
Campbell MacDIARMID is a journalist with the CBC Ottawa Bureau.
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