The King Street Gaol (commonly known as the Old Log Gaol) was

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

's first jail, built in 1798 on the outskirts of

York, Upper Canada York was a town and the second capital of the colony of Upper Canada. It is the predecessor to the Old Toronto, old city of Toronto (1834–1998). It was established in 1793 by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe as a "temporary" location fo ...

. A log structure with 10 cells and a hanging yard, it was located on the south-east corner of King Street and

Yonge Street Yonge Street ( ') is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Great Lakes#Geography, Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, ...

, where the King Edward Hotel stands today. The jail quickly fell into disrepair, leading it to be abandoned. The east cells of the jail were completely rotten, the ceilings in the different rooms were insufficient, and the sheriff didn't feel safe when having to confine prisoners in cells or debtor's rooms. It was replaced by a brick jail (further east between King Street and Court Street) in 1824. The building was built by Hugh Carfrae, a former soldier in the

Queen's Rangers The Queen's Rangers, also known as the Queen's American Rangers, and later Simcoe's Rangers, were a Loyalists fighting in the American Revolution, Loyalist military unit of the American Revolutionary War that specialized in cavalry tactics, clo ...

, the regiment formerly commanded by

John Graves Simcoe Lieutenant-General (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 u ...

, who was then the Governor of

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

. The first person to be executed at the jail was John Sullivan on October 11, 1798. A tailor by trade, Sullivan was convicted of stealing a forged note worth about one

dollar Dollar is the name of more than 25 currencies. The United States dollar, named after the international currency known as the Spanish dollar, was established in 1792 and is the first so named that still survives. Others include the Australian d ...

.Bruce Bell History Project
(See "History Project" on menu)

References

Defunct prisons in Ontario Demolished buildings and structures in Toronto Buildings and structures completed in 1798 Wooden buildings and structures in Canada 1798 establishments in Canada 1827 disestablishments in Upper Canada Debtors' prisons {{prison-stub

See also

References