Download THE JAIL TODAY North America`s Smallest JailHousE

THE JAIL TODAY
Tweed is a little haven that
is central to the major cities
including Toronto, Ottawa,
and Montreal.
Items of interest in Tweed
include Stoco Lake (home
to the popular sport fish the
Muskie, and Black
Crappie), the heritage
center, the shoe tree, our
artistic fire hydrants, and
more!
NORTH AMERICA’S
SMALLEST
JAILHOUSE
TWEED, ONTARIO
Today, the Jailhouse is under the
Municipality’s domain and is used as a
Visitor Information Center. The O.P.P
now have their own office in the
Municipality building for their meetings.
Students work at the Jail during the
summer and provide tours of the Jail,
information about Tweed and its events
and the surrounding area. Come visit
North America’s Smallest Jailhouse, sign
the guest book and get your picture taken
with the cut-out jailbirds !
The Tweed jail was built in
1898, after the original jail in
JAIL BREAK
JAIL CLOSING
In the mid 1930’s, there was a
jail break. The marks from
breaking the hinges on the door
are still visible today.
The jail closed in 1950 due to a lack
of crime in the town. A lot of men
in the logging industry left town,
due to a lack of work and therefore
the jail closed due to a lack of mischief.
After the closing of the jail, it was
unoccupied for a time until the
Ontario Provincial Police
renovated the building to make it into a
community police station, getting rid of
the three smaller cells to create one
large cell and to have room for a desk.
the Municipality building
flooded.
R.F Houston designed the jail
and was paid $10.00 for his
work. The total cost to build
the jail was $350.00.
NOTORIOUS
The jailhouse officially
opened in 1900.
GIDEON
PRISONER
BUTTS
Village constables who
watched over vagrants were
paid 20 cents per vagrant, or
30 cents if they had to feed
the prisoners.
The most notorious prisoner the Tweed
Most of the men who ended up in the
Jailhouse obtained was a man named
jail were vagrants whom were charged
Gideon Butts from Cloyne area. Butts
with minor offences. However, during
murdered his wife in 1903 and spent the
the Great Depression in the 1930’s the
night after his capture in the Tweed Jail.
number of vagrants dramatically
The following day he was transferred to
increased and the jail was used
a larger facility.
frequently.
TWEED JAILHOUSE
61 VICTORIA ST.
613-478-9814
TWEED MUNICIPALITY
255 METCALF ST.
613-478-2535
OR….
VISIT US AT
ww.tweed.ca
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