Napanee in Lennox and Addington County, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)

County of Lennox and Addington Court House and Campus

A Greater Napanee Designated Heritage Property

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 29, 2024

1. County of Lennox and Addington Court House and Campus Marker

Inscription.

County of Lennox and Addington Court House and Campus. A Greater Napanee Designated Heritage Property. Date of Construction: 1864 Architect: John Power Builder: John Forin Original Use: Court House and Gaol. The Lennox and Addington County Court House is part of a nineteenth century administrative cluster including a gaol, land registry office and gaoler’s house built on a site donated by Richard Cartwright, Member of the Legislative Assembly. Typical of mid-nineteenth century planning, the court house and gaol were designed by architect, John Power, to accommodate the needs of both government and justice. In February of 1864, construction of the court house and gaol was awarded by County Council to John Forin at a total bid of $33,146. , The Lennox and Addington County Court House with its grand façade and impressive lantern tower is a highly visible and extremely important building within the town and the county. The architect chose to express the building’s status, function and symbolic values in classical traditions. Elements of Italianate and Palladian architecture are combined to achieve an impressive building, appropriate for a new county which had just achieved independence from Frontenac County. Restraint in ornamentation is found both on the exterior and interior of the building. During 1993-94 County Council proceeded to completely restore and refurbish the Court House and add a new millennium wing designed by architect, C.A. Ventin, to the north façade. , The County Gaol reflects an early justice system that punished those who broke the law and also cared for the insane and destitute within its walls. The coursed stone building includes elements of Italianate style achieved by quoins of dressed stone at the corners and tall chimneys with a balanced façade facing the Court House. Three walled prisoner yards surround the main building. The Gaol was closed in 1971 and replaced by the Quinte Detention Centre serving Lennox and Addington and adjacent counties. County Council engaged architect, Wilfred Sorenson, in 1974 to design the conversion of the building to a museum and archives which opened in 1976. In 2013-14, County Council upgraded and expanded the facility, adding a new archives wing designed by the Ventin Group Architects. This major capital project was completed in celebration of the 150^e Anniversary of the County of Lennox and Addington. , On the west side of the campus is a fine red brick neoclassical style building constructed according to a design prepared by the Ontario Department of Public Works in 1868 for a standard fireproof registry office. County Council awarded a tender to Sydney A. Lake for $4,800 in June 1871 for the construction of the land registry building that served the county until it closed in 1995. Behind it, adjacent to the Gaol is the red brick gaoler’s house designed in Italianate style and completed in 1891 at a cost of $1,661. , A cenotaph, dedicated to the supreme sacrifice of men and women from Lennox and Addington in World War I was unveiled in front of the Court House portico on July 1, 1920. Plaques for the fallen from World War II and the Korean War were later added to the south and north mounds respectively. , Over the decades County Council has been committed to the restoration and renewal of the Court House and its ancillary buildings in order to protect the legacy of our past, while continuing to serve the citizens of Lennox and Addington for future generations. All four buildings on the campus have been designated under the Ontario Heritage Act as having historical, cultural and architectural significance. , [photo captions] . Court House, Gaol and Registry Office – c. 1910 . Land Registry Office – c. 1995 . County Gaol – c. 1909 converted to County Museum and Archives in 1976 . Unveiling the Cenotaph, July 1, 1920 . The Gaoler’s House - known as “The Cartwright Building” – c. 1909 . Court House – Lennox and Addington County’s Administrative Building after expansion in 1994

Date of Construction: 1864
Architect: John Power
Builder: John Forin
Original Use: Court House and Gaol
The Lennox and Addington County Court House is part of a nineteenth century administrative cluster including a gaol, land registry office and gaoler’s house built on a site donated by Richard Cartwright, Member of the Legislative Assembly. Typical of mid-nineteenth century planning, the court house and gaol were designed by architect, John Power, to accommodate the needs of both government and justice. In February of 1864, construction of the court house and gaol was awarded by County Council to John Forin at a total bid of $33,146.

The Lennox and Addington County Court House with its grand façade and impressive lantern tower is a highly visible and extremely important building within the town and the county. The architect chose to express the building’s status, function and symbolic values in classical traditions. Elements of Italianate and Palladian architecture are combined to achieve an impressive building, appropriate for a new county which had just achieved independence from Frontenac County. Restraint in ornamentation is found both on the exterior and interior of the building. During 1993-94 County Council proceeded to completely restore and refurbish the Court House and add a new millennium

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wing designed by architect, C.A. Ventin, to the north façade.

The County Gaol reflects an early justice system that punished those who broke the law and also cared for the insane and destitute within its walls. The coursed stone building includes elements of Italianate style achieved by quoins of dressed stone at the corners and tall chimneys with a balanced façade facing the Court House. Three walled prisoner yards surround the main building. The Gaol was closed in 1971 and replaced by the Quinte Detention Centre serving Lennox and Addington and adjacent counties. County Council engaged architect, Wilfred Sorenson, in 1974 to design the conversion of the building to a museum and archives which opened in 1976. In 2013-14, County Council upgraded and expanded the facility, adding a new archives wing designed by the Ventin Group Architects. This major capital project was completed in celebration of the 150^e Anniversary of the County of Lennox and Addington.

On the west side of the campus is a fine red brick neoclassical style building constructed according to a design prepared by the Ontario Department of Public Works in 1868 for a standard fireproof registry office. County Council awarded a tender to Sydney A. Lake for $4,800 in June 1871 for the construction of the land registry building that served the county until it closed in 1995. Behind it, adjacent

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 29, 2024

2. County of Lennox and Addington Court House and Campus Marker

The marker is mounted on a stone pedestal overlooking the southwest corner of the court house.

to the Gaol is the red brick gaoler’s house designed in Italianate style and completed in 1891 at a cost of $1,661.

A cenotaph, dedicated to the supreme sacrifice of men and women from Lennox and Addington in World War I was unveiled in front of the Court House portico on July 1, 1920. Plaques for the fallen from World War II and the Korean War were later added to the south and north mounds respectively.

Over the decades County Council has been committed to the restoration and renewal of the Court House and its ancillary buildings in order to protect the legacy of our past, while continuing to serve the citizens of Lennox and Addington for future generations. All four buildings on the campus have been designated under the Ontario Heritage Act as having historical, cultural and architectural significance.

[photo captions]
• Court House, Gaol and Registry Office – c. 1910
• Land Registry Office – c. 1995
• County Gaol – c. 1909 converted to County Museum & Archives in 1976
• Unveiling the Cenotaph, July 1, 1920
• The Gaoler’s House - known as “The Cartwright Building” – c. 1909
• Court House – Lennox and Addington County’s Administrative Building after expansion in 1994

Erected 2014 by Greater Napanee Heritage Committee.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic

County of Lennox and Addington Court House<br>(<i>south/front elevation</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 29, 2024

3. County of Lennox and Addington Court House
(south/front elevation)

The Cenotaph occupies the central grounds, directly in front of the original court house.

lists: Architecture • Law Enforcement • Notable Buildings • Patriots & Patriotism. A significant historical year for this entry is 1864.

Location. 44° 15.104′ N, 76° 56.979′ W. Marker is in Napanee, Ontario, in Lennox and Addington County. It is at the intersection of Thomas Street East and Adelphi Street, on the left when traveling east on Thomas Street East. The marker is mounted on a stone pedestal near the sidewalk at the southwest corner of the courthouse grounds. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 97 Thomas Street East, Napanee ON K7R 4B9, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Eastern Ontario

and specifically in Southeastern Ontario.

It is also in Central Canada.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony,

the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and Rupert’s Land.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 16 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Sir Allen Bristol Aylesworth (approx. 10 kilometers away); John Thomson 1837-1920 (approx. 10 kilometers away); Napanee River Watershed (approx. 10.1 kilometers away); "... a living river by the door..." (approx. 10.1 kilometers away); Escape of the Royal George 1812 (approx. 14.6 kilometers away); The First Steamship on Lake Ontario (approx. 15.6 kilometers away);

County of Lennox and Addington Court House (<i>northwest elevation</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 29, 2024

4. County of Lennox and Addington Court House (northwest elevation)

The 1993-94 new millennium wing, designed by architect C.A. Ventin, is attached (left) to the north façade of the original court house.

Early Latter-day Saints in Upper Canada (approx. 15.6 kilometers away); James Kenney, 1884-1946 (approx. 15.8 kilometers away).

Also see . . . Museum of Lennox & Addington.

Excerpt: When you visit the museum, you are also stepping into what once was the County Gaol. The limestone walls hold over 125 years of history all preserved in old gaol reports, County Minutes, and newspapers, now housed in our County Archives.
Gaol records date back to 1865, to when an 18 year old Camden youth, charged with theft, became the very first inmate until his crime was overturned. Besides theft you could also end up in the gaol if you committed other crimes such as; assault and battery, vagrancy, drunkenness, horse stealing, foul language, non-payment of taxes, and keeping a house of ill-fame. But, it wasn’t just criminals that were residents of the gaol, these walls also housed those deemed insane, poor or orphaned children. In October of 1976, the Lennox and Addington County Museum was officially open in the old County Gaol.

(Submitted on August 25, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

County of Lennox and Addington Court House (<i>southwest elevation</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 29, 2024

5. County of Lennox and Addington Court House (southwest elevation)

The historical marker is near the sidewalk on the left. The Cenotaph is on the right.

Credits. This page was last revised on August 25, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 24, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 318 times since then and 39 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on August 24, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on August 25, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.