Showing 12521 results

In 1829 John Howard proposed founding an asylum for the mentally ill in Kingston. Before the widespread use of asylums, people with psychiatric conditions were placed in jail. In Kingston, they were placed in the basement of the penitentiary. In 1839, the House of Assembly allotted 3,000 pounds for the construction of an asylum; however, Toronto, with a larger population, was given priority in receiving the money. In 1859, Rockwood Villa, which was built for J.S. Cartwright in 1841, became Rockwood Asylum. In 1894, Charles Kirk Clarke assumed the position of Rockwood’s superintendent. Although he was not Rockwood’s first superintendent, he initiated some remarkable changes in the asylum, including the publication of “The Rockwood Review”, a monthly newsletter, as well building a gymnasium to encourage exercise among patients.

Under the leadership of Superintendent Edward Ryan, Rockwood Asylum’s name was changed to Rockwood Hospital and the Ontario Neuro-Psychiatric Association was instituted to expand avenues in clinical research as well as to bring mental health care professionals together. Ryan also persuaded the government to fund the development of the Mowat building to be used for recovering and rehabilitating individuals. In 1920 Rockwood Hospital’s name was changed again, this time to Ontario Hospital – Kingston. In 1936, after Thomas Cumberland and Archibald Kilgour had both resigned as superintendents, Ernest A. Clark assumed the role, encouraging client interaction with the larger Kingston community and introducing libraries into both the main building and the Mowat Wing. By the end of the Second World War, Joseph Stewart was superintendent and the hospital was grossly understaffed due to World War II. Three years later Roger Billings joined Ontario Hospital as director of the Mental Health Clinic.

By 1959, one hundred years after ground was broken, Rockwood patients were transferred to the new buildings constructed on the same property, and the former asylum eventually became known as 'The Penrose Building', which was a residence for people with disabilities. Penrose closed in 2000 and the historic building has sat empty ever since. During the 1960s, the hospital underwent many changes, making the atmosphere for clients more relaxed and positive. Brian Juniper introduced a music department for clients; John Pratten eliminated the hospital’s “locked door” policy; and a special unit for children and adolescents opened in the hospital. In 1965 the name Ontario Hospital - Kingston was changed to Kingston Psychiatric Hospital in an effort to encourage the people of Kingston to think about the hospital as a part of the community.

In 1971, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care eliminated the position of medical superintendent in provincial psychiatric facilities in an effort to democratize responsibility therein. The next year, Richard Van Allen introduced a series of co-operative homes to be run by patients with some help from students and hospital staff. 1975 marked a year of physical developments to the building itself: it was the year that the Beechgrove complex opened.

In March of 2001, after years of planning, the Kingston Psychiatric Hospital was divested from the province and placed under the authority of the Providence Continuing Care Centre’s Governing Board, joining St. Mary’s of the Lake Hospital and Providence Manor. The former psychiatric hospital’s name was changed to Mental Health Services. The future of the old stone asylum, closed since 1997 as a residence for persons with mental disabilities, is uncertain. The Providence Continuing Care Centre operates a newer facility that replaced the old hospital.

No information available on this creator.

No information available on this creator.

No information is available about this creator.

During the year 1842, daily mail service during the summer months between Montreal and Kingston is authorized. The control of patronage appointments of Postmasters is transferred from the Deputy Postmaster General to the Governer General of each province in the same year. The postal system at this point, was still under the ownership of the British Monarch of the time, Queen Victoria. Operations and appointments had to pass through her representative’s approval.

The Kingston Poor Relief Society was interchangeably referred to as the City Poor Relief Committee and the Kingston Poor Relief Association. While not an official organ of local government, much of their financial support was derived from the City Treasury, with donations from individuals, organizations and churches also contributing to their fund. The main activity of the Society seems to have been the disbursement of funds. The funds of the association were predominantly for elderly people, widows and children: the “worthy poor”, with most of the monies going to the food and fuel accounts which were covered or heavily subsidized by the Society. There were occasional expenditures for clothing or footwear. The Society was most active during the fall and winter seasons often adjourning for the summer.
The Executive of the Society was composed of many prominent women of the City of Kingston (Richardson, Oberndorffer, Machar, Corbett) who conducted visits to homes and investigated needy cases. While some claim has been made that this Society was the continuance of the Female Benevolent Society which dated back to 1821, there are also other sources which more reliably have it dating to 1867, often being called the Committee of the Poor Relief and closely related with the City Mission Association.

No information available on this creator.

In the 1830s a commission consisting of the Honourable John Macaulay, Hugh C. Thompson and Henry Smith Sr. had purchased lot N0. 20 in the first concession of the Township of Kingston as a site for a provincial penitentiary. KP is the first structure erected in British North America to reflect the requirements of the late 18th century prison reforms, namely one prisoner per cell, classification of the inmate population by seriousness of the crime committed, constant supervision, and a rehabilitative labour program. Construction began on the facility in 1834 and the first wing, the south cellblock, opened a year later. The other three wings of the main building, the hospital, dining room, shops, walls and towers were constructed by the inmates themselves. The cellblocks and the rotunda were not completed until 1860 Kingston Penitentiary opened on June 1, 1835, during the reign of King William IV. As the "Provincial Penitentiary of Upper Canada", KP welcomed its first six inmates that day, and thereby marked the birth of Correctional Service Canada and the beginning of 162 years of correctional history in this country. Initially the institution was operated by a warden, a deputy warden, a clerk, a surgeon, two instructors, one labourer, one matron, six keepers and six guards, then called watchmen. Once the institution was under the control of Upper Canadian authorities, convicts were put to work erecting new stone structures and building a high stone wall surrounding the prison grounds. Shortly after Confederation in 1867, the Kingston Penitentiary was taken over by the Domonion government and continues to function as a federal prison.

Founded in 1994, the Kingston Opera Guild organizes events such as bus trips to popular opera venues outside of Kingston, opera video nights, a banquet with speaker or a symposium on a topic of interest to opera lovers, and an annual picnic in the summer.

No information available on this creator.