Curator Nathan Etherington hopes the new “Stories from the Brantford Gaol” exhibit at Brant County Museum and Archives will make for a fun and educational family outing during March break.
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The largely information-based exhibit covers notable cases and escapes from the early years of the correctional facility, which operated between 1852 and 2017, serving Brantford and Brant County.
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When the provincial government recently put together a heritage assessment of the former jail — at the back of the downtown Brantford courthouse — they reached out to Etherington to see what information the archives had.
In addition to interesting artifacts — like the massive cell padlocks, and a handwritten book cataloging recipes served to the inmates — Etherington also uncovered fascinating stories from entries in an early inspector’s ledger “that other people have never talked about,” he told The Hamilton Spectator on a sneak peak of the exhibit.
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A “tamer version” will run through the March break — although it does touch on hangings that took place — with darker stories to be added later, Etherington said, adding that it’s meant to be entertaining, not terrifying.
To make the museum kid-friendly for younger attendees, there’s also a museum scavenger hunt and a take-home coloring book based on the exhibits.
With admission by donation, and additional exhibits spread across the three floors of the museum — including a Ukrainian exhibit developed with Memories of Brantford, a project celebrating Brantford’s immigrant history, closing at the end of this month — Etherington said it makes for a fun “ drop-in” activity.
Hours are noon to 5 pm Monday to Friday and 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday. For more information, visit facebook.com/BrantHistoricalSociety.
Celeste Percy-Beauregard is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter based at the Hamilton Spectator. The initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
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