Prescott Barracks and Hospital

Photo by Alan L Brown - June 13, 2004

Photo by Alan L Brown - July 8, 2007

Plaque Location

The County of Leeds and Grenville
The Town of Prescott
On the east side of East Street just north of King Street

Plaque Text

The front portion of this structure one of the earliest surviving military buildings in Ontario, was constructed as a residence about 1810 by Colonel Edward Jessup, the founder of Prescott. Following the outbreak of the War of 1812, the stone house was appropriated for use as a barracks by local militia and, later, British regulars. It was soon enclosed within a stockade with other buildings, including a log schoolhouse also converted for barracks. Although a fort was completed nearby in 1814, the Jessup building continued to form part of the strategically located Prescott garrison. Between 1815 and 1817 it served as a combined hospital and barracks store, and in 1823 the British force purchased the house from the Jessup family.