In-built 1910, the Guelph Correctional Centre as soon as stood as a mannequin of early Twentieth-century reformist structure, self-sufficient, distant, and orderly. Inmates have been subjected to compelled labor in a close-by quarry whose infrastructure has lengthy since vanished. For many years, stonecutting, farming, and industrial work outlined each day life behind its partitions.
On July 7, 1952, the jail erupted in one in every of Ontario’s most violent riots. Overcrowding, poor residing circumstances, and mistreatment fueled the outbreak, which left a number of inmates and guards significantly injured and triggered in depth harm to the power. Nobody was killed, however the occasion marked a turning level within the historical past of Canadian corrections.
After practically a century of operation, the jail was decommissioned in 2002, forsaking acres of empty halls, decaying outbuildings, and nature reclaiming the grounds. As we speak, the sprawling website, full with man-made lakes, wooded trails, and native wildlife, sits empty, moreover the occasional ghost tour and canine walkers.
