Canada's Penitentiary Museum (Correctional Service of Canada Museum) — Attraction in Ontario

This.museum is the most visited museum among the twenty or so Kingston area museums. Most of us have never been in a jail so we're curious about what goes on behind the gate. Moreover, Corrections Canada has a large presence in Kingston and the nearby area with seven operating penitentiaries, a Corrections college and a Corrections regional administration. There is a relatively large percentage of Kingston households where a member has a professional connection with the penitentiaries.

This particular museum is also well located because it presides over the now closed Kingston Penitentiary to the south and is next to the long closed Women's Penitentiary to the north. This museum is in fact the former house of the Kingston Penitentiary warden.

When you arrive at the Warden's House for a visit, you are greeted by a volunteer who was likely a former employee. They point out that there is no charge but that donations are welcomed. The tour is also self-guided which is fine because there are only about seven rooms to visit on the two floors and everything is well-signed.

Everything you see is very interesting. There are two sample cells from different points in time. There are large collections of inmate creations including shivs, firearms, escape ropes and artwork. There are lots of stories about both the inmates and the corrections officers.

When you leave the Warden's House, you'll want to walk around to the back. You'll see the imposing Women's Penitentiary about which there is talk of making it into a woman's museum. There also remnants of the tall prison walls including the entire west wall. A portion of the east wall is still draped with...

Check website for open day/times, they are open seasonally - closed November to April 30th.

The museum guide was a retired correction officer from Kingston Prison who provided interesting facts about the prison from days gone by. The museum displays stories such as eloborate escape plans/attempts by prisoners or other displays such as how the term "sent to box" was coined.

Interested in how the prison delt with unruly prisoners? Well wonder no more, check out the 19th century method of waterboarding for unruly inmates. The original device, a chair with a small barrel designed to enclose the prisoners entire head and then filled with water (which then slowly leaked through the small hole made to make room for the prisoner's neck), is on display along with a detailed record of each time administered..use was discontinued due to a death in Auburn Prison, New York...the device makes modern waterboarding, as seen via media, look like a cake walk!

If you are curious about the history of the Kingston prison or just prison in general, highly...

I visited here years ago while doing a work placement for college. I was working at Pittsburgh Institution (called Pittsburgh Penitentiary back then) for a couple months and got a chance to visit this museum. It was very interesting, definitely something every tourist should try to get to while in the area. It seems like it has been updated with new stuff since I went, which is to be expected. It would have been about 2007 when I went (I know, ages ago! But time flies!). I was able to see a lit of great exhibits while here, and learned a lot about the history of Canada's penal system. My friend and I went on a weekday, after work, and thus it was towards the end of the day, so we didn't have as much time as I wanted to explore and learn, but it was...