Beautiful Place Integral to Guelph and Ontario's History

When I moved to Guelph to attend University, my father was supposed to be incarcerated at the GCC, but unfortunately, it closed that year. He ended up in a double-maximum security prison in Penetanguishene. Horrifically different than the GCC. I wandered the grounds, wondering how life would have been different for him.

After it closed, I used to fish the ponds and picnic on the land.

There is so much history behind all of those walls and on those grounds.

When COVID happened, I thought it would be a great opportunity to not only learn more about the rich history of the OR then GCC, but to share that knowledge with others in the community. In September 2021, I started up Guelph Urbex Walking Tours and began offering free guided historical tours of the grounds. It is truly amazing how much interest there is in these lands!!!

I have interviewed people who worked here, lived here, were incarcerated here and so many who loved the lands so much, they got married here and/or had their wedding photos taken here.

I sincerely hope these lands are preserved and remain accessible to the public and ideally, some of the buildings be restored and tours provided, similar to Kingston Penitentiary. There is an IMMENSE amount of interest in this from the community!