World Art Utopia

Saintlo Ottawa Jail Hostel (Carleton County Gaol) — Henry Horsey, Ottawa

Gray stone wall of the Ottawa Jail Hostel, the former Carleton County Gaol, with rows of barred cell windows and ivy
Artwork FileOttawa, Canada

Carleton County Gaol

SeenJun 2025

Henry Horsey · 75 Nicholas Street, Ottawa, Canada · 1862

Photo: Jeangagnon / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), as published on World Art Utopia.

The Carleton County Gaol was built on Nicholas Street in Ottawa between 1860 and 1862 and designed by Henry Horsey. It closed as a jail in 1972; the hostel and Ottawa Police say it reopened as a youth hostel in 1973. It was designated under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1978. Today it is run as the Saintlo Ottawa Jail Hostel, and guests can sleep in former cells. Source Source Source Source Source Source Checked

Seen Jun 2025: a Commons photo taken 8 June 2025 (camera date in the file’s EXIF data; the file page gives only ‘2025’; uploaded 12 April 2026) shows the building as the Saintlo Ottawa Jail Hostel; the hostel’s own booking page (viewed 10 November 2026) still lists rooms. Source Reported

More photos

A prison cell inside the Carleton County Gaol in Ottawa, photographed in 1895
1895 A cell while it was still a gaolPhoto: William James Topley / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
The Carleton County Gaol in Ottawa as a working prison, about 1910
1910 The gaol and its wallPhoto: N.D. Wilson (Library and Archives Canada) / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
The Ottawa Jail Hostel, the former Carleton County Gaol, in August 2007
2007 The hostel frontPhoto: Jeff Johnston / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

💡 4 things to know

  1. An Italianate stone gaol
    The register describes a three-and-a-half-storey stone building in the Italianate style, built 1860 to 1862 beside the courthouse. Source Checked
  2. Canada’s last public hanging
    Patrick Whelan was hanged here in 1869 for the murder of Thomas D’Arcy McGee. The register and the hostel call it Canada’s last public execution; Atlas Obscura gives the date as 11 February 1869. Source Source Source Source Checked
  3. Overcrowded cells
    According to Atlas Obscura, up to 150 prisoners shared about 60 tiny cells and 30 slightly larger ones. The police say the jail closed in 1972 because of the appalling living conditions. Source Source Reported
  4. Sleep in a cell
    The hostel offers single, double, twin and deluxe double cells plus shared dorms, and says it sleeps up to 160 people. Source Source Reported

📍 Where it is

75 Nicholas Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 7B9. Source Source Checked

Open in Maps

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 1895

    Cell interior, Topley photo (Commons/LAC)

  2. 1910

    Gaol exterior, N.D. Wilson (Commons/LAC)

  3. 19732 Aug

    Hostel opens, per Saintlo blog

  4. 197815 Nov

    Heritage designation, Canadian Register

  5. 200721 Aug

    Hostel exterior, Jeff Johnston (Commons)

  6. 20191 Sep

    Hostel front, Jeangagnon (Commons)

  7. 20258 Jun

    Saintlo Ottawa Jail Hostel, Canmenwalker

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark loss. Publication dates are not camera dates.

✅ The facts

Architect
Henry Horsey (Henry Hodge Horsey of Kingston, Ontario) Source Source Source Source Checked
Built
1860 to 1862; first opened 1862 Source Source Source Checked
Prison closed
1972 (new detention centre in Blackburn Hamlet) Source Source Source Checked
Hostel opened
2 August 1973 per the hostel; 1973 per Ottawa Police and a Heritage Ottawa photo caption (August 1973); one Heritage Ottawa passage says 1974 Source Source Source Conflicting
Heritage status
Designated under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1978 (register, hostel, Heritage Ottawa); the Canadian Register gives City of Ottawa By-law 380-78 of 15 November 1978 Source Source Source Checked
Owner/operator
Saintlo Hostels Source Source Checked
Capacity
Sleeps up to 160 people, according to the hostel Source Reported
Last execution
1946, Eugene Larment, according to Ottawa Police Source Reported
Address
75 Nicholas Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 7B9 Source Source Source Checked

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Last checked: 10 November 2026. How we verify art