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OXFORD COUNTY JAILHOUSE
In 1853, five Oxford County councillors formulated plans for a jailhouse. Their names are part of Oxford County in villages and streets. A contest held in 1853 for the plans for the jailhouse design. One of the prize winners was the mayor of Hamilton, in 1868. The jail was completed in 1854, in Italianate Romanesque style with Tuscan Gothic details. A prison library, with donated books, was added in 1856. The jail was known as "Castle Cameron" after John Cameron, the Governor at the time. In 1864, it was decided that the jail's yard would be used to grow vegetables, saving money. The jail capacity was 28 males and 5 females, although it was often overcrowded. There were five hangings that took place here, four men and one woman. The Oxford Jail was the fifth built by the Province of Ontario at the time. In 1977, it was closed and the prisoners were transferred to London. In 1985, it was agreed to renovate the old jail into offices for the Oxford County Board of Health. The building design won a Provincial award for the renovations.
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