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Friday, September 23, 2016

Johnstown District Court House and Gaol Plaque

The Johnstown District Court House and Gaol plaque stands south of the fountain in the park between Courthouse Square and John Ross Matheson Way in Brockville, Ontario.


JOHNSTOWN DISTRICT COURT HOUSE AND GAOL
In 1808 the provincial government authorized the erection
of a court house and gaol at Elizabethtown (Brockville) to
serve the District of Johnstown created ten years earlier.
By 1811 a brick structure had been built here on land donated
by William Buell, the founder of Brockville. It was
replaced in 1824 by a larger building which remained the
judicial and administrative centre of the region until the
present court house was completed in 1843. Prominently
situated at the head of a public green, this imposing
Neoclassical structrue was designed by the noted Toronto
architect John George Howard and contructed by Benjamin
Chaffey, a local contractor. Subsequently enlarged and
renovated, it retains the arrangement of prison and court
facilities so effectively integrated in the original plan.
Erected by the Ontario Heritage Foundation, Ministry of Citizenship and Culture

PALAIS DE JUSTICE
ET PRISON DU DISTRICT DE JOHNSTOWN

En 1808, le gouvernement provincial autorisa la construciton
d'un palais de justice e d'une prison à Elizabethtown
(Brockville) pour desservir le district de Johnstown, créé
dix ans plus tôt. En 1811, un édifice en briques avait été
construit sur ce site offert par William Buell, fondateur
de Brockville. Il fut remplacé en 1824 par un bâtiment
plus important qui demeura le centre judiciaire et administratif
de la région jusqu'à la construction du palais de justice
actuel, en 1843. Dominant un parc public, cet imposant
édifice néo-classique fut dessiné par John George Howard,
architecte torontois de renom, et construit par Benjamin
Chaffey, un entrepreneur local. Agrandi et renové plus tard,
il conserve encore la disposition des cours et des prisons
qui gaisait se intégralement partie du plan original.
Erigée par la Fondation de patrimoine ontarien, Ministère des Affairs civiques et culturelles