page_title: Fort Saskatchewan
section_title: The provincial gaol
hierarchical_section_title: Fort Saskatchewan / History / The provincial gaol
caption_attribution_description: English: The Fort Saskatchewan Wardens House in June 2020, shortly after being repainted to its original appearance
context_page_description: Fort Saskatchewan is a mid-sized city along the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta, Canada. It is located 25 kilometres northeast of Edmonton, Alberta's capital city. Fort Saskatchewan is part of the Edmonton census metropolitan area and is one of 24 municipalities that constitute the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board. Fort Saskatchewan's population in the 2016 federal census was 24,149. Its population has since increased to 26,942 according to the city's 2019 municipal census.
  The city was founded as a North-West Mounted Police fort, and was later home to a large provincial gaol; the city prides itself on its "law and order" history. The original fort was located across the river from the hamlet of Lamoureux, and the city opened a replica of the fort next to its original site in 2011. Fort Saskatchewan is bordered by Strathcona County to the south and east, Sturgeon County to the north and west, and the City of Edmonton to the southwest. Sturgeon County is across the North Saskatchewan River.
  The city is most well known for its proximity to petrochemical facilities, including Dow Chemical, Sherritt International, Nutrien, and Shell Canada.
context_section_description: A new $200,000 provincial gaol opened in 1915 on the site of the old fort, to replace the 34-cell guard house that had been used to hold prisoners since the NWMP fort was constructed in 1875. This was necessary because by the early 1900s, the old guard house was often filled beyond capacity; in August 1912, it held up to 71 prisoners at one time. The fort was demolished after the gaol opened, and in 1927 the prison's warden unveiled a cairn on the site of the old guard room, made from stones taken from its foundation, to commemorate the old fort.
  
  There were various additions to the jail throughout the next 70 years, including the construction of more cell blocks, a gymnasium, a stand-alone power plant, and carpentry, auto body, and licence plate shops. The prison grew food for inmates on a nearby 324-hectare farm. A new house for the Warden and his family was completed in 1937, replacing the Commanding Officer's quarters of 1889. The Warden's house was symbolically constructed on municipal grounds near the prison, rather than on the prison grounds themselves. This was meant to provide convenient access to the prison for the warden while normalizing life for the warden's wife and children; recognizing his dual role as warden, and as father/husband. The Warden's house was converted into office space in early 1973.
  Although the prison was primarily used to house people awaiting their trials or serving sentences of under two years, 29 prisoners were hanged on-site between 1914 and 1960. Noteworthy prisoners who were executed include Florence Lassandro (the only woman hanged in Alberta), and Robert Raymond Cook (the last man to be hanged in Alberta). By 1973, the jail employed 220 residents and housed 300 male and female offenders. The jail was replaced in 1988 when a new provincial correctional centre, which houses 546 inmates, was built south of Highway 15 (Veterans Way) on 101 Street. The jail cell blocks were demolished in 1994. The warden's house is the only remaining structure linked to the old gaol; the last building on the actual prison grounds, the facility workshop, was demolished in 2014. In June 2020, the warden's house was repainted from white and green, to peach, white, and red. This was the original colour scheme of its exterior, but the house was given a green and white coat while being leased by a local non-profit in the early 1990s.
caption: The Warden's house in June 2020, shortly after being repainted to its original colour scheme
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