37.5 cm of textual records + 125 photographs + 1 videocassette
Scope and Content
Collection consists of a selection of Oakalla correctional facility records including reports, correspondence, photographs and a video tour of the death row incarceration cells inside Oakalla Prison taken by Burnaby Village Museum curator after the facility was closed. Most of the photographs docum…
37.5 cm of textual records + 125 photographs + 1 videocassette
Scope and Content
Collection consists of a selection of Oakalla correctional facility records including reports, correspondence, photographs and a video tour of the death row incarceration cells inside Oakalla Prison taken by Burnaby Village Museum curator after the facility was closed. Most of the photographs document Oakalla Prison in 1991 and were taken during the Open House event or when Burnaby Village Museum staff were granted access to retreive items prior to demolition. A small selection of facility photographs of site and staff are also included.
Records are arranged into series:
1) Oakalla correctional facility records series
2) Oakalla correctional facility photographs series
3) Oakalla documentary photographs and video series
History
The Oakalla Prison Farm (also known as the Lower Mainland Regional Correctional Centre) was a model prison farm on 185 acres of land next to Deer Lake in Burnaby. The Oakalla Prison Farm opened in 1912 and was initially designed to hold 150 men and 50 women. By the 1950s, the population was well over one thousand. The prison included a working farm which included a dairy, vegetable gardens and livestock. In 1959 the last execution in British Columbia took place at Oakalla. Following a riot and mass escape in the late 1980s, poor conditions, and public outcry, Oakalla closed down in 1991. In the fall of 1991, the prison was opened up to the public whereby tours were conducted of the site. Not long after, buildings were demolished and a residential housing development took it's place. A playground now sits on the former site of the main building.
In 1991, staff from Burnaby Village Museum were granted access, documenting the site prior to it's demolition. Many Oakalla artifacts and records were salvaged and accessioned into the Burnaby Village Museum's permanent collection.
Arrangement of records and series of this collection is based on record creators and subject that. Facility records and photographs were created and collected by Oakalla correctional facility staff and documentary photographs and a video from 1991 were created by Burnaby Village Museum staff.
Notes
Title based on content of collection
Some records within this collection are closed. Contact Burnaby Village Museum for access.
File consists of acetate sheets and handwritten notes used in the oral report "Oakalla Prison Farm \ A Short History" presented by Ed Eckley to the Burnaby Historical Society on January 14, 1998. Included in the file are pamphlets for the presentation.
File consists of acetate sheets and handwritten notes used in the oral report "Oakalla Prison Farm \ A Short History" presented by Ed Eckley to the Burnaby Historical Society on January 14, 1998. Included in the file are pamphlets for the presentation.
Photograph of the grounds and buildings of Oakalla Prison Farm looking north towards Deer Lake. An open field is visible in the foreground with a barn and other other farm buildings located down the slope towards the lake.
Photograph of the grounds and buildings of Oakalla Prison Farm looking north towards Deer Lake. An open field is visible in the foreground with a barn and other other farm buildings located down the slope towards the lake.
History
Salvaged from Oakalla Prison Farm site in October, 1991
File consists of papers pertaining to the Oakalla Prison Farm including newspaper clippings, correspondence, and handwritten notes. Also included in the file is a typed page (photocopied) entitled "Applications for Appointment / Staff of Oakalla Prison Farm" written in the 1920's.
File consists of papers pertaining to the Oakalla Prison Farm including newspaper clippings, correspondence, and handwritten notes. Also included in the file is a typed page (photocopied) entitled "Applications for Appointment / Staff of Oakalla Prison Farm" written in the 1920's.
File consists of paper records created or collected by Edmund Eckley on the history of the Oakalla Prison Farm in Burnaby. Included in the file are; newspaper clippings, the "Official Closing Tour / Lower Mainland Regional Correctional Centre / Oakalla Prison Farm" programme as well as photocopies …
File consists of paper records created or collected by Edmund Eckley on the history of the Oakalla Prison Farm in Burnaby. Included in the file are; newspaper clippings, the "Official Closing Tour / Lower Mainland Regional Correctional Centre / Oakalla Prison Farm" programme as well as photocopies of "British Columbia / Gaol Rules & Regulations / 1912" and photocopied aerial photographs of the site.
File consists of handwritten notes and reference materials believed to have been used in creating the oral report "Oakalla Prison Farm \ A Short History" presented by Ed Eckley to the Burnaby Historical Society on January 14, 1998. Reference materials include; photocopied plans, correspondence, yea…
File consists of handwritten notes and reference materials believed to have been used in creating the oral report "Oakalla Prison Farm \ A Short History" presented by Ed Eckley to the Burnaby Historical Society on January 14, 1998. Reference materials include; photocopied plans, correspondence, yearly financial statements, an "Oakalla Closes" programme along with various essays and statistics pulled from the Internet (and other sources).
The phasing out and demolition of the Oakalla Prison farm allowed for the planned development of the Oakalla Neighbourhood in the 1980s. By 1991, the City of Burnaby had adopted the Oakalla Development Plan which called for the transfer of land to the Deer Lake Park reserve as well as the creation of a new residential area consisting of multi-family housing types.
Item consists of a copy of "ADMINISTRATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE B.C. BOARD OF PAROLE AND THE B.C. CORRECTIONS BRANCH" including a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Mr. John Konrad, Chairman B.C. Board of Parole; Mr. Bernard Robinson, Commissioner B.C. Corrections Branch, March 11, 1981. The t…
Item consists of a copy of "ADMINISTRATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE B.C. BOARD OF PAROLE AND THE B.C. CORRECTIONS BRANCH" including a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Mr. John Konrad, Chairman B.C. Board of Parole; Mr. Bernard Robinson, Commissioner B.C. Corrections Branch, March 11, 1981. The thirteen page agreement is divided into seven sections and includes a Table of Contents.
Photograph of back gate entrance to east wing kitchen of Oakalla Prison. A tall chain link gate stands at the entrance in front of a one storey brick building.
Photograph of back gate entrance to east wing kitchen of Oakalla Prison. A tall chain link gate stands at the entrance in front of a one storey brick building.
History
Salvaged from Oakalla Prison Farm site in October 1991
File consists of copies of excerpts from "B.C. Parole Policy and Procedures"; with memo to adult probation officer-parole coordinators re: copies of parole forms to data control, Feb. 1, 1982; and blank form on statement of parole applicant along some handwritten notes.
File consists of copies of excerpts from "B.C. Parole Policy and Procedures"; with memo to adult probation officer-parole coordinators re: copies of parole forms to data control, Feb. 1, 1982; and blank form on statement of parole applicant along some handwritten notes.
Photograph is a two-part, right-profile and front-view booking photograph of a prisoner, said to have escaped from Oakalla Prison Farm on July 14, 1930.
Photograph is a two-part, right-profile and front-view booking photograph of a prisoner, said to have escaped from Oakalla Prison Farm on July 14, 1930.
Photograph is a two-part, right-profile and front-view booking photograph of a prisoner, said to have escaped from Oakalla Prison Farm on July 14, 1930.
Photograph is a two-part, right-profile and front-view booking photograph of a prisoner, said to have escaped from Oakalla Prison Farm on July 14, 1930.
Handwritten note on verso of photograph reads: "Escaped from Oakalla / 14.7.30 / 18255 / EDWARD BOYD / @ / SILAS SIMON / 14290 / Welsh. / Age 24. / 5 ' 5 5/8. Weight 136 / DK BROWN Curly Hair / Brown Eyes"
Item consists of a sixteen page document titled "BRITISH COLUMBIA GAOL SERVICE / UNIFORM SPECIFICATIONS AND SCALE OF ISSUES". Document refers to uniform specifications for staff working at Oakalla Prison.
Item consists of a sixteen page document titled "BRITISH COLUMBIA GAOL SERVICE / UNIFORM SPECIFICATIONS AND SCALE OF ISSUES". Document refers to uniform specifications for staff working at Oakalla Prison.