A designated historical feature of the former Ontario Reformatory has been damaged.
It’s unclear who is responsible or what the intent was.
Sometime overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, a four-metre long section of the field wall lining the driveway to the main building was seemingly dismantled, with large rocks strewn about the area.
Constructed by reformatory inmates around 1920, the field wall is a protected feature of the York Road property under the Ontario Heritage Act. City council unanimously agreed to a Part IV designation under the Ontario Heritage Act in 2021.
That designation is meant to preserve structures of identified cultural heritage value for future generations.
During that 2021 meeting, council also agreed to launch a heritage cultural district study for the property, which is underway now. If ultimately approved, that Part V designation would add an additional layer of protection against planned demolition or alterations that impact heritage values.
The reformatory was fully decommissioned in 2001 and the property has been vacant since 2014, when the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services completely left the site. With no identified uses for it, the provincial government has declared the property to be surplus.
Guelph police said they were not aware of the incident until contacted by GuelphToday.
