L'Orignal Old Jail opened in 1825 and housed inmates until 1998. The second floor houses the courthouse, which is not only still in operation but is also the oldest in Ontario. The L'Orignal jail also claims to have the smallest cell recorded in the entire history of Canadian prisons.
In the early 19th century, the jail had a rule of silence: prisoners were forbidden to speak. Their sentences were served in total silence. This explains the curved shape of the ceiling: it made the cells echo more. It was therefore easier for the guards to hear the inmates whisper!
Five prisoners were executed in the prison yard, and the last two were hanged together in 1933. The Prison Annex, added to the central block in the 1980s, was built largely by the inmates themselves. This work was part of the social reintegration program offered by the institution.
The most notable inmate of the prison was Léo-Rhéal Bertrand, also known as the Tuxedo Kid. Arrested in 1936 for a bank robbery, the Tuxedo Kid was brought in and tried at the L'Orignal prison. During his trial, he appeared wearing a tuxedo, which earned him his nickname. He was not only convicted of this crime: during his life, the Tuxedo Kid murdered either one or two of his wives. He was found guilty only of the murder of the second.
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