Barbara Raue

Kingston Ontario Book 6 in Colour Photos Barbara Raue

Kingston is located where the St. Lawrence River meets Lake Ontario and the Rideau Canal. It is a historic city midway between Toronto and Montreal. Kingston was the first capital of the Province of Canada. Kingston is nicknamed the "Limestone City" because of the many heritage buildings constructed using local limestone. During the War of 1812, Kingston was the base for the Lake Ontario division of the Great Lakes British naval fleet, which engaged in a vigorous arms race with the American fleet based at Sackets Harbor, New York for control of Lake Ontario. Fortifications and other defensive structures were built. In the 1840s, the Upper Canadian government built Fort Henry and a series of distinctive Martello towers to guard the entrance to the Rideau Canal, the shipyard on Point Frederick, and the harbor. All still exist, and Fort Henry is a popular tourist attraction. The nearby village of Barriefield, overlooking the Cataraqui River was settled in the 1830s, and is now a well-preserved historical neighborhood. The Kingston Penitentiary which opened on June 1, 1835 was Canada's oldest reformatory prison. Its layout - an imposing front gate leading to a cross-shaped cellblock with workshops to the rear - was the model for other federal prisons for more than a century. It is Classical architecture in local stone. Kingston Penitentiary represented a significant departure from the way society had dealt with its criminals. Previously, jails were used primarily as places to hold convicts awaiting execution, banishment, or public humiliation. The penitentiary imposed a severe regime designed to reform the inmate through reflection, hard work, and the fear of punishment. Inmates lived in small cells but worked together from dawn to dusk under a rigidly enforced code of silence. Kingston Penitentiary stands as a symbol of this country's commitment to maintaining law and order.