ADAMS, James (1833-1906) was Chief Trades Instructor at Kingston Penitentiary from 1872 until 1899 and joint architect (with Thomas Painter) to the Penitentiaries for the Dept. of Justice from 1872 until December 1874 when his position was abolished under a Department reorganization. Born near Armagh, Ireland on 29 October 1833 he learned his trade of carpenter and joiner there and was said to have 'studied architecture and drawing in his leisure hours'. In 1853 he was appointed foreman for the district church buildings in the north of Ireland and in 1857 came to Canada and settled in Bowmanville, Ont. Adams moved to Ottawa in 1860 or 1861 and worked briefly as a stonecutter and builder there before taking a position in 1863 as construction foreman under Thomas McGreevy on the project to complete the Parliament Buildings. He was one of nine architects to submit an entry in the competition for the Western Central School in Ottawa in 1868 (Ottawa Citizen, 13 March 1868, 3). His entry was not premiated and William Hodgson was declared winner.
In March 1869 he was sent by the Justice Department to Kingston to act as Chief Trades Instructor at the Penitentiary. During his tenure he designed several outbuildings both within the walls and on the site of the adjacent Penitentiary Farm including the Farmhouse (1886) and the High Service Water Tower (1890). In 1892-93 he supervised the reconstruction and extension of the South Cell Wing which had originally been built in 1834-35. Adams held various positions at the Penitentiary until May of 1898 when he was dismissed 'as the result of a disagreement with the Deputy Warden' (C.A.B., xi, May 1898, 91). He was briefly reinstated but by August 1899 he had once again been dismissed. His son Edwin J. Adams served as apprentice to his father while the latter held his post in Kingston. He died at Portsmouth, Ont. on 1 June 1906 (obituary in Daily British Whig [Kingston], 1 June 1906, 8; obit. Evening Journal [Ottawa], 1 June 1906, 1; J. McKendry, 'The Early History of the Provincial Penitentiary, Kingston', in Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada Bulletin, xiv, Dec. 1989, 98, 104-5, illus.; inf. from Mr. Dana Johnson, Parks Canada, Ottawa; biog. Jennifer McKendry, Architects Working in the Kingston Region 1820-1920, 2019, 10-11, illus.).
(works in Kingston and area)
KING STREET WEST, "Copesworth", a large residence for J.W. Craig, 1878 (J. McKendry, Woodwork in Historic Buildings of the Kingston Region, 2018, 98-99, illus. & descrip.; dwgs. at Queen's University Archives, Kingston). These drawings are signed "E.J.A.", perhaps a reference to Edwin James Adams, son of James Adams, and assistant to his father for a period of time.
PORTSMOUTH, ONT., Orange Hall, King Street West, 1878 (Daily British Whig [Kingston], 13 Aug. 1878, 3, descrip.; J. McKendry, Portsmouth Village Kingston - An Illustrated History, 2010, 52, illus. & descrip.)
KINGSTON PENITENTIARY, the Prison Farmhouse, MacDonald Boulevard near King Street, 1886 (NAC, RG73, Acc. 86-87-1094, Vol 440, File 1890, 491-2, letter from James Adams; Kingston, Buildings of Architectural and Historic Significance, 1975, iii, 33-5, illus. & descrip. but lacking attribution; J. McKendry, Portsmouth Village Kingston - An Illustrated History, 2010, 72, illus. & descrip.)
PORTSMOUTH, ONT., "Drumbee Villa", a residence for the architect James Adams, Alwington Avenue at Union Street, 1887 (J. McKendry, Portsmouth Village Kingston - An Illustrated History, 2010, 71, illus. & descrip.)
KINGSTON PENITENTIARY, the Water Tower, John A. MacDonald Boulevard near King Street, 1890 (NAC, RG73, Acc. 86-87-1094, Vol 440, File 1890, 491-2, letter from James Adams; Kingston, Buildings of Architectural and Historic Significance, 1975, iii, 36-8, illus. & descrip. but lacking attribution; J. McKendry, Portsmouth Village Kingston - An Illustrated History, 2010, 30, illus. & descrip.)
KINGSTON PENITENTIARY, reconstruction and addition to the South Wing, 1892-93; damaged during prison disturbance of 1971 (Kingston Penitentiary Museum, Letterbooks 1894-96, Memorandum to the Warden by James Adams, Architect, 2 April 1895)
ALEXANDRIA, ONT., Dominion Reformatory, 1894; construction begun in 1895, but not completed (Daily British Whig [Kingston], 29 Oct. 1894, 4; inf. Dana Johnson, Ottawa)