Shawbridge Boys' Farm
Encyclopedia
Shawbridge Boys' Farm, now Shawbridge Youth Centres, is a farm in Shawbridge, Quebec. It was originally used either as a training home for underpriviledged, wayward, and orphaned boys or as a youth detention center
. It is now called Shawbridge Youth Centres, and is owned and operated by Batshaw Youth and Family Services.
boys. The farm was built in 1907, after eight years of planning, and a farm named Boys' Farm and Training School was built north of Montreal
, in Shawbridge, a small town in the Laurentians.
Although the farm was being used to house orphans, criminals under the age of 18 were sent there to serve time for charges such as robbery
, assault
, or theft
.
The farm had a separate charter granted in 1917, and was also sponsored later that same year by by the Rotary Club of Toronto and Montreal, who procedeed to build a cottage on the farm. In total, the farm was sponsored for about $15,000 by the Rotary Club.
Like other buildings in the village, the houses were built from local materials such as red bricks
and fieldstone
quarried from the rock falls of the Piedmont
mountain cliffs right behind Shawbridge.
Although it is mostly used as a chain of group homes
that are isolated from the community, it is also used as a youth detention center
.
Youth detention center
A youth detention center, also known as a juvenile detention center , juvenile hall or, more colloquially as juvie, is a secure residential facility for young people, often termed juvenile delinquents, awaiting court hearings and/or placement in long-term care facilities and programs...
. It is now called Shawbridge Youth Centres, and is owned and operated by Batshaw Youth and Family Services.
History
The original idea originated in 1899, when James R. Dick, a superintendent of the Boys' Home of Montreal, suggested that a boys' home farm in the Laurentians be built and used for the training of delinquentJuvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency is participation in illegal behavior by minors who fall under a statutory age limit. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most if not...
boys. The farm was built in 1907, after eight years of planning, and a farm named Boys' Farm and Training School was built north of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, in Shawbridge, a small town in the Laurentians.
Although the farm was being used to house orphans, criminals under the age of 18 were sent there to serve time for charges such as robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
, assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
, or theft
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
.
The farm had a separate charter granted in 1917, and was also sponsored later that same year by by the Rotary Club of Toronto and Montreal, who procedeed to build a cottage on the farm. In total, the farm was sponsored for about $15,000 by the Rotary Club.
Like other buildings in the village, the houses were built from local materials such as red bricks
Bricks
Bricks may refer to:* Brick, an artificial stone made by forming clay into rectangular blocks* Brick , a slang term for a device that cannot function due to internal failure...
and fieldstone
Fieldstone
Fieldstone is a building construction material. Strictly speaking, it is stone collected from the surface of fields where it occurs naturally...
quarried from the rock falls of the Piedmont
Foothills
Foothills are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills to the adjacent topographically high mountains.-Examples:...
mountain cliffs right behind Shawbridge.
Present
Shawbridge Boys' Farm is now called Shawbridge Youth Centres, and is owned and operated by Batshaw Youth and Family Services, a government service meant to help families in difficulty.Although it is mostly used as a chain of group homes
Group home
A group home is a private residence designed or converted to serve as a non-secure home for unrelated persons who share a common characteristic.-Types of group homes:...
that are isolated from the community, it is also used as a youth detention center
Youth detention center
A youth detention center, also known as a juvenile detention center , juvenile hall or, more colloquially as juvie, is a secure residential facility for young people, often termed juvenile delinquents, awaiting court hearings and/or placement in long-term care facilities and programs...
.