Site Record

Metadata

Site Name

Bruce County Courthouse & Jail

Site#

800

Description

The Corporation of the County of Bruce (known as Bruce County) was initially established on January 1, 1850 as part of The United Counties of Huron, Perth and Bruce, in the Province of Canada (later the province of Ontario, Canada). On May 16, 1856, Parliament allowed for the Provisional County Council of Bruce to form, but due to disagreement over where to locate the County Town, Bruce County was not incorporated until 1867.

In December 1858, the Provisional Council passed a by-law to raise $24,000 for the erection of necessary county buildings, including the jail and courthouse, but due to some informality the by-law was declared invalid. Plans and specifications had been advertised for, and were examined at this session, but nothing definite was done to move forward with building construction. The BCM&CC holds plans drawn up in response to this advertisement in December 1858, entitled "The Court House & Jail, Kinloss, C.W." by William Thomas & Sons, Architects, Toronto and Hamilton. It is not clear whether the addition of "Kinloss" to these plans is an indication that Kinloss was in the race for the county town or due to the fact that the warden's post office address was in Kinloss, leading the architects to suppose the County town was there. (Robertson, p. 85).

In 1863, another by-law was based authorizing a call for tenders to erect County buildings. In December 1863, the Building Committee reported to the Provisional Council in December 1863, that a site had been purchased in Walkerton and that David Murray, Architect, of Guelph, had been appointed to prepare plans. Construction was delayed, however, due to issues related to uncertainty over the choice of a County Town, and the Warden's refusal to sign contracts until that issue was resolved. When a decision was made in 1865 in favour of Walkerton, construction began by contractor John Elliott, Brantford, Ontario. (Rutledge, pp. 4, 8, 10)

Construction of the jail was completed at 204 Cayley St., Walkerton, in 1866 at a cost of $14,670.00, built in the Vernacular style. The Building Committee reported in November 1866 that the County Buildings were completed and that the Jail was ready to receive prisoners. The jail was initially used to house those awaiting trial, and could hold about 50 inmates. It held prisoners from Grey, Bruce and Huron Counties until their court dates. It also later served prisoners with short-term sentences and weekend stays.

The adjacent Courthouse construction was also completed at 207 Cayley St., Walkerton, in 1866. It was built in the Italianate Institutional style in marl brick for about $30,000.00. The new Bruce County Council met for the first time in the new Courthouse in January 1867. The ground floor of the court house had offices for the Registrar of Deeds, the County Treasurer, the County Court Clerk, the Sheriff, the County Attorney, and the Clerk of the Peace. The first floor included the Courtroom, Judge's Room, Grand Jury Room and Petit Jurors rooms (1867 Directory)

By 1870, the complex was comprised of the Jail, County Administration Building, Courthouse and Land Registry Office. In 1876, a new building was added for Council Chambers and County officials on the northeast corner of the County block. There were a number of additions to the administrative complex over the years, including a 1924 addition for the County Highway Department and a 1958 addition to provide more space for the Highway Department and the Children's Aid Society.

The Court Room was remodeled in 1956. In 1966, a new addition was added to the Courthouse, which officially opened on May 31, 1967.

Until 1969, it had been the County's responsibility to provide suitable accommodation to house the County Courthouse, jail registry office, office of the County Judge, Crown Attorney, Sherriff, County Court Clerk and the Clerk of the Surrogate Court. After January 1, 1969, the Province of Ontario took over the administration of Justice in the Counties and Cities, thereby taking charge of the buildings previously built by the County. (McLeod, p. 97)

The Jail closed in 2011 after operating for 144 years.

Sources:
Rutledge, John. "An Assessment for "Adaptive Re-use of the Bruce County Jail, Walkerton, Ontario - December 2012 done for the Preservation Works! Program of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario."

McLeod, Norman. "The History of the County of Bruce 1907-1968", vol 2, Bruce County Historical Society, 1969. Print.

Robertson, Norman. "The History of the County of Bruce and of the minor municipalities therein." Toronto: William Briggs, 1906.