Social and political history site.
Details of Site Location: West of Strachan Avenue between two rail corridors: the northern corridor used by the Northern, Credit Valley, and Grand Trunk railways and the southern used by the Toronto Grey and Bruce Railway. The site is directly north of New Fort.
Boundary History: The prison began with a small area and expanded over the years to occupy most of the triangle of land west of Strachan between the rail lines and beyond them.
Current Use of Property: Most of the property is currently used for industrial purposes, although part of the prison is still intact and visible.
Historical Description: Planned as one of two such facilities in 1870, only Central Prison was built by Sandfield Macdonald’s government. As official government architect, Kivas Tully designed the building and two later additions. The design and prison operations were borrowed from American sources. Construction began in 1871, and even before it was opened in 1873, prisoners were being brought for incarceration. Prison workshops were first used by the Canada Car Manufacturing Company; it employed prison labour to build equipment for the railways. The first Warden was William Stratton Prince, a former British army officer with extensive experience, and an alcoholic. But Prince was very well connected and answered to the Inspector of Prisons and Public Charities, and through him directly to the Attorney General and the Premier. From 1859 to 1874, Prince had been chief of the Toronto police force and was a strict disciplinarian. When the Canada Car Company pulled out, Attorney General Langmuir turned the workshops to other services. Prince delegated much authority to guards, and the prison became known for its brutality; Kingston Penitentiary was considered “heaven” in comparison. Prince’s relationship with Langmuir deteriorated. Stories got out about men beaten to death, nocturnal buryings within the prison, rotten meat as food, and other horrors. Dr. Aiken, prison physician, was not summoned in the case of one death, and the body mysteriously disappeared. In October 1880, Prince ordered the flogging of an American nearly to death, and when word got out, the United States Embassy in Ottawa put pressure on the Ontario government. Langmuir ordered the brutality stopped, and that no flogging be done except with his permission. Prince resigned the same month and went to work as Registrar of Wellington County. He died the next year of alcoholism.
Wellington’s Registrar, James Massie, became the next Warden and introduced a more relaxed discipline. But the guards remained brutal. One guard was murdered by a prisoner. Food, which had been bad enough under Prince, got worse under Massie – in part because the government piggeries at the Humber often supplied bad meat to all government institutions, including the Lunatic Asylum near the prison. The mass resignations of guards slowed down under Massie. Massie, concerned about prison sani-tation, ordered the burying of Asylum Creek following a typhoid epidemic in the prison. In 1878, the prison was connected to Toronto water, and had electricity in 1883. In the meantime, prison labour built many of the surrounding streets and a commercially operated brickyard, while a “gang” worked a stoneyard. The prison developed farms and gardens following the lead of Dr. Joseph Workman at the Asylum. The prisoners who received the worst treatment were, in order: Irish Catholics, black men, and Indians. But no prisoner was well treated. Massie humanized the prison with concerts, visiting children’s choirs, and other entertainments.
The third Warden was Dr. William Gilmour, who was appointed by Oliver Mowat after questions were raised about public monies for contracts disappearing under Massie’s administration during 1894–95. A progressive, Dr. Gilmour continued to improve prison conditions. During Prince’s administration, the prison guards used to have full privileges at Fort York, but one guard tortured the goat mascot at the fort and the privileges were withdrawn during Gilmour’s time. Under Dr. Gilmour, the last major works project was undertaken at the prison, in the building of a huge reservoir for 400,000 gallons of water. Built in 1898 out of prison-made bricks, the reservoir was used until 1936 and is assumed to exist today, but not in good condition. In this period, the area was becoming heavily industrialized by the Inglis and Massey Companies. Inglis purchased some prison lands, and on the west side came Menzies, Hees, both properties later taken over by Hinde and Dauche. In Guelph, Ontario, a new prison had opened and prisoners from Central were transferred there in 1914–15. When Dr. Gilmour retired in August 1915, for a brief period, the prison remained closed and vacant. From 1915 to 1919, Central was taken over by the military, as the CNE was crowded with the war effort and more space was needed. In part, some military gear and hardware were stored at the prison. At the war’s end, pressure from business and industry and from the railroads increased. In 1928, the A.R. Williams Machinery Company moved into the prison, staying for a year. In 1930, Central Prison was demolished; however, the chapel and part of a wall of one of the workshops survive.
Relative Importance: While Central Prison represents one of the most shameful parts of the city’s history, and its severe conditions and brutality are shocking, it must not be forgotten. The media of the day were concerned about it, as were various charities. Incorrigibles were invariably sent there, including uncontrollable inmates from the Lunatic Asylum. The prison is linked to industrial/commercial history, public works, and military history.
Planning Implications: It is recommended that the chapel be restored and used to exhibit the history of the site as a reminder to all that the worst of human behaviour and instincts must always be controlled and monitored. A full archaeological investigation is necessary to determine what lies beneath the surface to tell that history, including bodies in this unconfirmed burial site. Businesses in the area should be required to cooperate, and the investigation should extend as far as the grounds of the Lunatic Asylum. The position and condition of the reservoir must be determined and converted to public benefit.
Reference Sources: Archives of Ontario; City of Toronto Archives; Toronto Reference Library; Department of National Defence; Public Archives of Canada.
Acknowledgements: Society for Industrial Archaeology.