The Barrie Gaol, colloquially referred to as the Barrie Bucket, located at 87 Mulcaster Street in

Barrie Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada, was a maximum-security facility housing offenders awaiting, trial, sentencing or transfer to federal and provincial correctional facilities, opened in 1841 and closed in 2001. It was replaced by the Central North Correctional Centre in the town of

Penetanguishene Penetanguishene , sometimes shortened to Penetang, is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the southeasterly tip of Georgian Bay. Incorporated on February 22, 1882, this bilingual (French and English) community has a populati ...

, about 47 km northwest of Barrie. The gaol was designed by

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

architect Thomas Young, who subscribed to the contemporary theory that a polygonal structure would make the occupants feel less confined. Construction of the gaol began in 1840. It is built from limestone from the quarry at Longford on the east side of

Lake Couchiching Lake Couchiching ( ), from the Ojibwe ''gojijiing'' meaning "inlet", is a medium-sized lake in Central Ontario, Canada, separated from Lake Simcoe by a narrow channel. Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching are popular spots for fishing in summer and ice ...

. Five prisoners were hanged at this location: James Carruthers age 48 on 11 June 1873 for the murder of his wife; John Tryon age 47, on Dec 30, 1873 for the murder of Francis Fisher; George O'Neil, 47 years, on Jan 4, 1929, for the murders of Azor Robertson and Ruby Irene Martin; Thomas Wesley Campbell, age 54, on Jan 4, 1932, for the murder of William Campbell, his father; Lloyd Wellington Simcoe, age 18 in 1945 for murder. Others died during incarceration and are believed to be buried in the inner courtyard. The last inmate to reside at the Barrie Gaol was transferred to the Penetanguishene 'superjail' on December 7, 2001. It remains vacant to this day. The gaol served as the primary filming location for the movie

Dark Reprieve Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low lu ...

(2008).The Barrie Examiner article
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References

{{Barrie Buildings and structures in Barrie Defunct prisons in Ontario 1842 establishments in Canada 2001 disestablishments in Ontario History of Simcoe County

See also

References