In the late 19th century, The Dryden area had witnessed a large influx of
settlers and as a result there were about 40 children requiring some form of
formal education. Some of the family names whose children required schooling
were : Myrtle, Hatch, Rhoades, Thompson, Skene, Orvis, Hutchison,
A man by the name of Mr. McMechan began the first formal education in Dryden. In 1896 he opened a private school on No 10 Duke Street. He charged a monthly fee of $1.00 per student. (source not known at the moment)
Mr. McMechan's house was situated on a rock behind
the present day residential home located on
In May 1897 , the ratepayers formed the Union School Section of Van Horne, WainWright and Dryden. It was the Board of Education's intent to rent the home of Mr. McMechan's until a proper school building could be planned and constructed. (source Board minutes)
According to the Board minutes of July 19, 1897, V. McMechan applied for a permit to teach with the Department of Education, but for unknown reasons, the application was turned down, as a Mr. T. H. McConnell was the first teacher. (source board minutes, G. Wice page 69).
It is of interest to record the physical conditions of the first school house in Dryden. This small two room house had the partition removed to make the interior into one room that measured about sixteen feet by twenty feet. The building had four windows and a floor made of unfinished lumber that often resulted in the bare-footed students getting painful splinters. The seats and desks were hand-manufactured and the classroom had a "penalty box" for any misbehaving pupil. (G. Wice pg. 69)
IN 1897, the Board purchased the land on
An advertisement, costing fifteen cents, was placed in the Toronto Globe and Mail in November 1898. The advertisement read “Teacher Wanted – Dryden Village. Apply with references, stating experience and salary expected. A.E. Annis, Dryden, Ont. A.E. Annis was chosen as a Trustee in May 1897. (Article to be scanned soon). This article resulted in forty-one applications by teachers and Miss Emily Kennedy was hired at $250 per annum. A caretaker was engaged for ten cents per day on the condition that he supply his own "oil" (probably kerosene).
The second school was a larger building with six windows, three of which were on the south side and three windows on the north side. In this way the students could have cross light with no shadows. Ventilation was achieved by opening the windows. If more light was needed then the coal oil lamps bracketed to the walls were lit. The floors were constructed of finished lumber and the walls and ceiling were made of lime plaster.
A school in those days was not complete unless a bell was used to call the
students for study. A large bell was purchased that could be heard at the farms
located two miles away. (According to George Wice,
this bell should still be in the possession of the city of
In September 1900, Miss Kennedy's salary was raised to $325.00 per annum, but she would be docked pay for any abscence. A Mr. McLennan replaced Miss Kennedy from 1901 - December 1902. In October 1902, the Board advertised for a teacher and from the 40 applications received, Miss Robson was hired.
In 1903, the school had 70 students enrolled in one large room. The core subjects taught were hand-writing, spelling and arithmetic. Long columns of numbers were written on the board and students were required to add those numbers as quickly as the teacher moved the pointer along the list. Teams of students were formed for spelling competitions. One could only imagine the energy and resulting noise of 70 young students in one classroom! As the sole teacher of that large classroom, Miss Robson was paid a salary of $340 per year.
During the succeeding years, overcrowding was to become a continual source of worry for the board. Over the next few years, numerous teachers were hired but none continued teaching for more than a few semesters. Due to overcrowding, the Board considered renting other rooms within the community. The cost of upkeep of these additional classrooms was often debated by the Board of Education. One teacher, Mrs. (McMonagale) Wigle was hired on the condition that she teach the students in her home while she was employed by the Board. Some of the other names of the teachers employed during the early part of the century were Mr. L. H. McConnell (who taught up to December 1898), Miss Emily Kennedy (who taught to June 1901), Mr. D. McLennan (taught from September 1901 until December of 1902.
The numerous teachers who taught during that time period saw their salaries slowly increase from $250 per year in the late 1890s to $390 starting in January 1905. It is also of interest to note that tution fees were charged to families wishing to enroll their children in the public school. In 1897, families were charged 75 cents per month for two children; in 1903 the charge was set at $1.50 per quarter for the first child and 50 cents for the second child of the same family. All fees were payable in advance.
In the summer of 1908 the Board received tenders for a two storey four room school. Two rooms were built on the first floor and were occupied by students in the fall of 1908. This two room accommodation soon became overcrowded, and another two rooms were completed on the second floor for use as classrooms in the fall of 1912.
This third structure served as the main school for elementary and
continuation school until 1923, with the opening of
The Van Horne building still stands to this day, remodeled for the city of
The information for this page was summerized from: a) George Wice's book "Carved From the Wilderness", pages 69-77. b) The minutes of the Board Meetings. c) Source not known. (history of Dryden ?)