S.S. #10 Trafalgar aka the Little White Schoolhouse
Description
- Media Type
- Image
- Item Type
- Photographs
- Description
- In 1824, a log school was built at the modern-day named intersection of Tenth Line and Britannia Roads in the former Trafalgar Township, Halton County. This area originated as part of Trafalgar Township, later amalgamated into Toronto Township, Peel County.
Approximately 50 pupils, including many adults, attended when the school opened.
Rural students also came to this school from Toronto Township in Peel County to the east. When school sections were created in 1842, area families from both Townships were permitted by the Ontario Legislature to continue this school on the Town Line as a "union" school.
The log union school, S.S. No. 10 Trafalgar, burned down in 1858.
A brick building was built in 1859 on the nearby Robinson farm in Halton County. This construction turned out to be so poor that the building tilted and had to be propped up more than once. Attempts were made to sue the builder.
The 1859 Tremaine Map shows a nearby school on the farm of John Miller, on the western half of Lot 6, Concession VI, Toronto Township, on the Peel County side of the Town Line near Tenth Line. This area originated as part of Trafalgar Township. This farm ran between the Ninth and Tenth Lines and butted the opposite side of the Ninth Line Trafalgar brick school.
Apparently, there were conflicts between the "Ninth Liners" and the "Town Line Blazers" schoolchildren of each school.
In 1872, trustees of the Trafalgar school (one of whom was farmer John Miller) prepared to construct a third school building to end the grief caused by the faulty brick school construction.
The new building, shown in this record, was framed with 8" x 8" timbers, clad with horizontal boards and painted white. It was built by John Gailey of Oakville. It opened in August 1872.
This school, Trafalgar's White School, was also built on the farm of John Miller, diagonally across the road from the discarded brick building.
The two schools were eventually combined in 1883 as United School Section No. 3. 25% of the pupils and finances came from Toronto Township, 75% from Trafalgar. There was another outcry against the White School being amalgamated into the Trafalgar Township Board in the 1920's and 1930's.
Students from both Townships were educated at S.S. No. 10 until June 1960. At that time, Toronto Township trustees gave up claims to any assets of the Union School Section.
The above information is taken from the presentation pamphlet prepared by Joan Reid, Streetsville Historical Society president in 2008, for the 150th Anniversary of Streetsville.
The TTHS has a copy of Joan Reid's study, "Little White Schoolhouse S.S. No. 10 Trafalgar" in its print archives. The book has a wealth of documented information about the activities at the school, names of the teachers and school trustees, and tells stories about the school and the people involved with it.
- Notes
- This school was also known as the Tenth Line School, and the "Old Schoolhouse".
The Toronto Township school was S.S. No. 18.
The Toronto Star photograph of the school linked here as posted by the Toronto Public Library was taken in 1929.
- Subject(s)
- Local identifier
- TTRMW000778
- Collection
- Trafalgar Township Historical Society
- Geographic Coverage
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Ontario, Canada
Latitude: 43.5628918744446 Longitude: -79.7507471157837
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- Copyright Statement
- Copyright status unknown. Responsibility for determining the copyright status and any use rests exclusively with the user.
- Recommended Citation
- S.S. #10 Trafalgar aka the Little White Schoolhouse
- Contact
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Trafalgar Township Historical Society Sponsor: Jeff Knoll, Local & Regional Councillor for Oakville Ward 5 – Town of Oakville/Regional Municipality of Halton
