I find it very hard to keep my mind on work when I’m in Kingston, ON., as I’m always on the lookout for potential sites to hunt. This small strip of land is right next to a major road, it’s across the street from a c.1870 church, north of an old limestone one-room school and within a half mile of the Kingston Penitentiary in the Village of Portsmouth, ON. I could only spend a 2 1/2hrs here yesterday, but as I like to say… it was definitely time well wasted!
KP Canada Button
The Kingston Penitentiary (known locally as KP and Kingston Pen) is a former maximum-security prison located in Kingston, Ontario. Constructed in 1833–34, and opened on June 1, 1835 as the "Provincial Penitentiary of the Province of Upper Canada", it was one of the oldest prisons in continuous use in the world at the time of its closure. Kingston Penitentiary was one of nine prisons in the Kingston area, which range from low-security facilities to the maximum-security facilities Kingston Penitentiary and Millhaven Institution (which was initially built to replace Kingston Pen). The institution was built on land described as "lot number twenty, in the first concession of the Township of Kingston". The site was chosen for "combining the advantages of perfect salubrity, ready access to the water, and abundant quantities of fine limestone." Six inmates were accepted when the penitentiary was opened. Charles Dickens visited Kingston in 1842 and commented in his American Notes, "There is an admirable jail here, well and wisely governed, and excellently regulated, in every respect. The men were employed as shoemakers, ropemakers, blacksmiths, tailors, carpenters, and stonecutters; and in building a new prison, which was pretty far advanced towards completion. The female prisoners were occupied in needlework." The penitentiary's western wall adjoins the Village of Portsmouth’s Olympic Harbour.
“This button was worn by officers at Kingston Penitentiary during the nineteenth century. It dates from the era before federal penitentiary staff uniforms were standardized across Canada in 1896, but its beginning dates are currently unknown. The first references to uniforms for correctional staff appear to date to c.1860 at K.P., therefore it is unlikely that this dates prior to that time. Most of the K.P. buttons have plain backs with no maker's mark, however one has recently been located with a marking reading "RICH TREBLE GILT" and what appears to be the image of a bee. Archival evidence indicates that Waterbury Button Co. may have been the manufacturer. Silvered versions are also known to exist and it appears in two sizes.”
Just added the pic of the KP Button after a short period in the tumbler... I think it looks better.
Thanks very much for looking and for sticking around for my Canada Day lesson in Canadian Penitentiary history!
Dave
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