Join a guided tour of the Ontario Reformatory grounds, led by P. Brian Skerrett, guest-curator of the exhibition Darkness and Light: Inside the Ontario Reformatory, on view now at Guelph Civic Museum.

For over 100 years, the Ontario Reformatory/Guelph Correctional Centre was embedded in the lives of the people of Guelph. Explore the site during this walking tour, starting at Willowbank Hall, constructed in 1915 as the Engineers Residence, and continuing through the Beaux-Arts landscape envisioned by Architect John Lyle. Discover watercourses and ponds built by prison labour. Walk past field stone walls to multi-level terraces behind the 1923 Superintendents’ House. The tour will pause briefly at the main entrance of the Administration Building, walk around to the guard tower and then proceed to the Chapel, the last inmate-built building on the property, before returning to Willowbank.

The walk will take approximately 60 minutes at a moderate pace. Much, but not all the route is paved and on an incline. Please wear comfortable shoes. There are no washroom facilities on site.

This event requires preregistration on Eventbrite and is SOLD OUT. You can join the waitlist via the Eventbrite page.

Left to right (details): Soldiers in the Billiards Room at Speedwell Military Convalescent Hospital, circa 1919 (Guelph Museums 1978.6.4); Painting created in 1985 by John J. Anishinabe, a member of the Native Sons (Courtesy: Janny Nieuwland); Inmates riot in protest of the living conditions at the Ontario Reformatory, 1952 (Guelph Museums 2014.1.1); “Hope” banner created by Reformatory inmates (Courtesy: Connie Shaw); Watching brook trout in a stream at the Ontario Reformatory (stonework by inmate labour), 1925 (Archives Ontario AO # B117492)