This award-winning museum is dedicated solely to the preservation and interpretation of the history of Canada’s federal penitentiaries. Located at the birthplace of the Correctional Service of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, the museum is housed within Cedarhedge, the 1873 Italianate vernacular limestone residence which once housed a sequence of wardens of Kingston Penitentiary. Currently eight rooms explore various facets of this unique history, from works of inmate art and contraband to examples of uniforms and equipment used in correctional work. A feature are two reconstructions of cells as found at Kingston Penitentiary in the 19th century and at the closure of the institution in 2013.
Situated right across from Kingston Pen (a 19th century prison that Charles Dickens once visited!), the Penitentiary Museum highlights the history of Canada’s Correctional Service, and is located in what used to be the Kingston Penitentiary Warden’s residence.