Exploring an Abandoned Prison, Northern Ontario

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• published: 05 Sep 2013
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When I set out at 330am to drive the 400km to this location I had no idea what I would find, if anything at all. As I neared the location I found myself surrounded by Department of National Defense NO TRESPASSING signs, and I found myself becoming very worried that I had made the drive for nothing, as the DND territory is one I will not violate or tread on. Fortunately for me, at the end of the "road" I found the landmark I was looking for, and no DND signs. I loaded up my gear, which this time included a crossbow to protect myself from bears, (thats right bears!) and made the 3-5 km trek into the Northern Ontario wilderness. What I found at the end of the trail was nothing less than AMAZING! A massive structure sitting in the middle of nowhere. According to the Ontario Heritage Trust, the facility was established in 1914 based on the revolutionary premise that low-risk inmates would benefit from the exercise and skills learned while working outdoors at self-supporting institutions. The prison accommodated between 180 and 820 minimum and medium security offenders with sentences of three months to two years less a day. Over time, it grew it to occupy 14,100 ha owned and 40,800 ha leased, housing three permanent camp sites, several temporary ones, and a town of prison staff families with a population of 600 to 1,000 people. Prison inmates provided labour to build the entire community and ran an extensive mixed farm, a tailor shop, and a prosperous logging operation. This was one of the largest reform institutions in 20th century Ontario. It closed in 1975 because of changes in correctional practices. The explore was nothing less than fantastic, despite the damage, heavy vandalism, and clear evidence that many explorers had come before me, I walked these halls as if I was the first person ever to search this building. From tiny cells, to the boiler room, to the dank basements every inch of this place was worth the time it took to get here. Given some of the hazards I noticed, especially deep wells covered in grass, I should have probably had someone with me. I am aware some of the basement footage is limited by my flashlights "spot", but please appreciate the video as a whole. Thanks to @ggreeneyes1975 for the tip. I hope you enjoy this video, please subscribe, like and comment and don't forget to follow me on Twitter @DaaDeeoh Great Comments from my viewers: Michael Gies Mar 26, 2014 • Thank you for exploring AND posting it.....my father worked as a correctional officer there, and as a child, I remember playing on the streets in the old Burwash town for the officers and staff. Fond memories....dispite the vandalism and the aged appearance, I can still see my dad and some of the officers there. Norma Beauchemin Mar 26, 2014 • I was brought up in the village of Burwash. They opened the first prison in 1914 and it was closed in 1974. This prison you are seeing was built in 1958, so it was only open for 15 years before the government in all it's wisdom decided to shut the whole thing down. They left everything standing for the next 20 years, because they couldn't decide what to do with the property. A few of the houses were sold privately and moved out, but the rest was bulldozed in 1994. The heritage plaque was erected in 2006. The first few miles of the property (from the highway) has been turned over to the military, the rest is administered by the Ministry of Natural Resources. The prison you see was sold to a private person many years ago. To say that it is so hard to get to, there sure has been a lot of vandalism in the past few years. A few of the comments below had asked for some history, so I thought I would oblige.