Courthouse

Elgin County Courthouse. Built 1852. Site of archaeological dig to recover bodies of two men who were hanged at the courthouse for murder.

-First built in 1852-1853 on land acquired from Benjamin Drake. Created when Elgin County was created from Middlesex County.

-(two storey judicial building including court room, jailer's residence, registry office) with jail nearby

-John Hendershott and William Welter were hanged here for the murder of William Hendershott and buried on the property

-John Hendershott took life insurance out on his nephew and convinced his daughter's fiancee, Welter, to assist in killing William Hendershott and claiming the money. They tried to stage the murder to make it look like a logging accident. They were arrested in December 1894, tried in March 1895, and hung on June 18 1895.

-Courthouse damaged by a fire in 1898. Rebuilt by Neil Darrach (local architect).

-Jail is closed ca, 1976-78 and replaced by the London-Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre.

-1985--County sells property.

-Jail is entirely demolished by 1991 and paved over to be a parking lot

-Jail is excavated, looking for where Hendershott and Welter were buried because there were conflicting accounts of their location.

-Found pipes, buttons, bottles etc. as well as remains of the stone walls.

-An archaeological investigation in the 1990s found nothing, but it likely only looked in what we now know to be the wrong location.

-New archaeological investigation (2009-2011) found burial location in the southeast corner of the jail yard. (Not southwest, as reported)