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 Charlotte County Gaol - St Andrews, NB Posted by:  T0SHEA
N 45° 04.524 W 067° 02.949
19T E 653554 N 4993177
Built in 1832 and used as a jail until the late 1970s, this building is a great advertisement for keeping folks on the straight and narrow.
Waymark Code: WMPTY0
Location: New Brunswick, Canada
Date Posted: 10/20/2015
Views: 5
We visited on a day early in the season when the courthouse and Gaol were not open to tourists, but the caretaker happened by while we were there and offered to show us around. A tour of the Gaol is a sobering experience, as conditions for prisoners in this building would have been pretty miserable, to say the very least. The cells are small, dark and poorly ventilated. Moreover, they are unheated. The caretaker told us that when the weather turned particularly cold the prisoners were allowed out of their cells and into another room in the jailer's quarters, which was heated, to keep from freezing to death.
The building, along with the 1840 courthouse (still in use as a courthouse), are now heritage properties and tourist attractions. As well, the Gaol now houses the Charlotte County Archives and a gift shop in the jailer's quarters. Incidentally, both the courthouse and the Gaol are reputed to be haunted by the ghosts of prisoners who have been executed here.
NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE AND PROVINCIAL HERITAGE PLACE
Back in the 1800s, the local courthouse was often the place where the community gathered. Such was the case for the Charlotte County Courthouse, built in 1839-40.
Thomas Berry designed this historic building in classical-revival style. It combines the plain practicality of a one-story clapboard structure with a remarkable temple facade, complete with a roof pediment supported by Tuscan columns. This is where 19th-century citizens came together for elections, fairs, parades and official visits. Still in use today, it is the oldest courthouse in continuous use in Canada. It is recognized as a National Historic site and Provincial Heritage Place.
Appropriately enough, the county ‘gaol’ sits right next door. This building is a little older, dating back to 1832, and is a Provincial Heritage Place. In fact, it was still used as a jail right up until the late 1970s. The walls are thick and the cells were uncomfortable with tiny window openings and narrow doorways. It’s not hard to grasp the harshness of the early justice system.
Today, this building houses the Charlotte County Archives. Guided tours of the County Courthouse and the Old Gaol cells are offered, as well as historical walking tours and evening ghost walks. The Archives also sometimes hold ‘A Night in the Haunted Gaol’ events for children aged 8 to 12. The night includes a ghost walk around the town of St. Andrews and a sleepover in the Old Gaol. On Canada Day, the Archives sets up a jail on Market Square where you can purchase warrants to have your friends and loved ones locked up or buy get out of jail free cards. Lastly a Heritage Homes Tour is given in August. Tickets must be purchased at the Archives. Please contact the Gaol or visit us for more information.
From Tourism New Brunswick Charlotte County Gaol
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
The Charlotte County Gaol Provincial Historic Site consists of a two and a half storey split-faced granite building built in 1832 and situated on one of the original public town squares in the Town of St. Andrews.
HERITAGE VALUE
The Charlotte County Gaol is one of the province's oldest surviving gaols. Built in 1832 from massive granite blocks shipped by scow from a quarry in Deer Isle, Maine, it speaks to the heavy-handedness of 19th century justice. Found adjacent to the old Charlotte County Court House (1839-40), the functional Georgian style building is an imposing structure that has remained relatively unaltered over time.
CHARACTER-DEFINING ELEMENTS
The imposing setting of the building, at the top of the sloped public square adjacent to the County Court House.
The exterior architectural elements including the functional Georgian style characterized by:
- simple rectangular massing with unadorned and ordered stonework;
- simple squared window openings on the long side with iron security bars;
- a low hip roof with small unadorned eave and cornice, and the pair of central chimneys;
- a slight asymmetry within the principal façade revealing the functional uses within.
The structural elements are represented through:
- un-coursed rubble stone foundation comprised of sandstone & shale;
- granite lintel above the main entry door, with the carved date "1832" inscribed;
- fenestration on the southern office facade, with a pair of 2 over 2 double-hung wood-frame windows on each floor (unlikely to be original windows), including cut granite sills and partial remnants of original shutter hardware;
- walls built of split-faced coursed granite ashlars in a running bond, with a continuous stone belt course at the exterior second floor level;
- cell wing corridor floors built of 2.46 meters long interlocking tapered granite slabs with a split-faced surface;
- floor structure of wood beam and planks in the office/entry section.
The interior characteristics throughout the building include:
- the interior first floor layout;
- with the gaol area comprised of 10 similar-sized stone walled cells on the main floor, with two rows of 5 cells on either side of the central 2.46 meters wide corridor;
- the detention area which is connected to a two-room office/entry area occupying one-quarter of the total floor area;
- original cell area hinged iron doors and hardware
- the ten exterior wall loopholes on the main floor which allow small amounts of ventilation and natural light in each cell;
- original cast iron prisoners’ bed frames in cells;
- Georgian style painted wood railing and stair connecting the two office floors;
- fireplaces and wood mantles supported by a large arched brick and stone structure in the basement;
- simple wooden door on the rear façade which once led to an adjoining wood-frame jailer’s quarters including a robust original lockset and hinge hardware;
- the second floor layout similar to the first, with the notable exception of the prison wing being a single large secured room rather than individual cells.
From Historic Places Canada
The "Official Tourism" URL link to the attraction: [Web Link]
The attraction’s own URL: [Web Link]
Hours of Operation:
April and May: Tuesday to Friday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
June: Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
July and August: Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
September: Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
October: Tuesday to Friday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
November to March: by appointment only
Admission Prices:
Free
Approximate amount of time needed to fully experience the attraction: Up to 1 hour
Transportation options to the attraction: Personal Vehicle Only
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