Designed by St. John architect Thomas Smith, the York County Gaol was built between 1840 and 1842 and continued to serve as a jailhouse until its retirement in 1996. Georgian, plain and stark in appearance, the building's original purpose remains unmistakable, with bars on the windows and the entire building constructed of large granite blocks.
This was the third gaol built in the city, the first sometime before 1800 and the second in 1799. The gaol once housed a pair of
Colombian drug dealers and a
notorious serial killer. The rear yard of the gaol is enclosed by a high wall and was the site of the 1949 double hanging, the last in Fredericton. In a corner there was a space for rock breaking by prisoners sentenced to hard labour, a whipping post, and perhaps even stocks.
Since being decommissioned as a jail, the building has been occupied by
Science East, New Brunswick’s only hands-on science centre, which teaches children "
the basics of science in a fun and entertaining way, exploring everything from robotics and computer programming, to physics, chemistry, biology and more!".
Since moving in, the folks at Science East have had some unusual experiences concerning the gaol's history, such as finding old jailbreaking tools in the cells. CBC News even published a story on their experiences, reproduced below.