At the October Term for 1861 of the Quarter Sessions for St. Mary's, the Court had decided to build a new jail at Sherbrooke. "The Court agreed that a jail should be built at Sherbrooke - the dimensions of which are to be left to a Committee who are to consult with the Commissioners; also to agree to the size of the building the material, the site, and time when the same shall be erected.
The Court appointed Angus Kirk, John W. McKeen, and Samuel Archibald Esq to be a committee for the new Jail and recommended that they should get a good plan for the building of said Jail."(83)