Trafalgar Castle School - Yearbook (Whitby, Ontario Canada)

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Chapter Three The Brief Years of Grandeur Sheriff Reynolds is said to have imagined himself to be one of the baronial lords of England who would one day entertain members of the royal family in his palatial castle. Though Trafalgar Castle was only partially completed in September 1860 when Edward, Prince of Wales visited Canada, the sheriff extended an invitation to the prince and his party to visit his new home. Time would not permit such a visit, so the sheriff had to be content to wait for another opportunity. Sheriff Reynolds, however, was among the party of officials on the platform to receive the prince at the railway station. Along with the Mayor of Whitby, and Warden of Ontario County, he escorted the prince to the pavilion where he read an address to the prince from the County and its people. The Mayor, H. J. Macdonnell, expressed some annoyance be- cause the sheriff was the first to read his address. He considered the head of the municipality should have the right, but the Governor-General, Sir Edmund Head calmed his ruffled feelings by apologizing for the error in not presenting him first. Sheriff Reynolds, however, was happy to have scored one up on his rivals again, and along with the mayor accompanied the royal party to Toronto on the steamer Kingston. At 10:20 a.m., Oct. 6, 1869, the prince ' s party arrived at the Grand Trunk Station. Members of the party included some of the most prominent personalities in Canada: the Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald; the Governor-General, Baron Lisgar; Ontario ' s Lieutenant-Governor, Sir W. P. Howland; Ontario ' s Premier, John Sandfield Macdonald; the mayor of Toronto, and officials of the Grand Trunk Railway and Bank of Montreal. The royal party proceeded uptown in a parade of 100 carriages, passing under evergreen arches erected for the occasion. They soon arrived at the site for the ground breaking, directly in front of Trafalgar Castle where the tracks now cross Gilbert Street. Platforms were erected for the visitors, where a crowd of 5,000 to 6,000 persons had assembled. After the reading of addresses of welcome by the mayor and war- den of the county, the Prince, accompanied by the Governor-General and Joseph Bigelow, president of the Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway, turned the first sod for the railway with a silver spade. About 11:30 a.m. the royal party and in- vited guests partook of a luncheon at Trafalgar Castle, which was adorned with flags for the occasion. Mrs. Reynolds led the prince into the drawing room, followed by the sheriff, leading Mrs. Young, the Governor-General ' s wife, Mrs. Howland, and Miss Macdonald, the prime minister ' s sister. In addition to the official visitors, many county dignitaries, including Mayor James H. Gerrie of Whitby, Ontario County Warden Joshua Wright, John Hall Thompson MP, T. N. Gibbs MP, Lt. Col. Fairbanks of the 34th Battalion, Joseph Bigelow and Ontario County Judge Zaccheus Burnham were present. Mayor Gerrie con- ducted the formal introductions. Following a boimteous luncheon, the royal party left Whitby by train. The visit of Prince Arthur to Trafalgar Castle was the crowning glory for Sheriff Reynolds and marked the beginning of the end of the years of grandeur for Trafalgar Castle. Debts were becoming an increasing problem for the sheriff, and by 1872, he was beginning to consider the sale of Trafalgar Castle. He had lived there 10 years in splendor, but the cost of such gracious living was too much for his pocketbook. In December of that year, a band of com- missioners headed by the minister of agricul- ture for Ontario was seeking a site for an agricultural college. Their itinerary included a visit to Whitby where they took soil samples in various parts of the town and visited Trafal- gar Castle for lunch. The commissioners agreed the castle would make an ample college which would easily accommodate 75 students, and be purchased for $100,000. Luck was not to be with the sheriff this time, for the com- missioners chose Guelph for the new school, where the Ontario Agricultural College re- mains to this day. As the sheriff sought some way to dispose of his costly castle, to a worthy institution throughout 1873, a small band of local men dedicated toward the establishment of a college for young ladies began to meet in Whitby. It was not long before they would approach the sheriff to discuss their plans. Southwest view of castle showing servants ' wing.

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Chapter Four A College Is Born On the evening of December 24, 1873, about 100 residents of Whitby assembled in the town hall at the call of the mayor to consider the establishment of a female seminary in the town. A requisition calling for the meeting had been passed around in previous weeks and received many signatures. The cause of edu- cation for young women was being vigorously promoted at the time with the churches taking the lead in establishing schools of higher learn- ing throughout Ontario. It was natural, there- fore that Whitby was interested in participating. More than 15 of Whitby ' s most prominent citizens rose to address the meeting. The first speaker was Rev. Joseph E. Sanderson, minister of the Methodist Tabernacle, who be- came the prime mover in the effort to establish the seminary. Mr. Sanderson had been a bril- liant scholar at Upper Canada College and the University of Toronto, having graduated in 1855 with many prizes to his credit. The fol- lowing year he was ordained as a Methodist minister, and served at churches in Ottawa, Aylmer, Perth and Trenton before coming to Whitby in 1871. He explained that the Methodist Church organization in Ontario was divided into three sections. Eastern, Western and Central. The Western section had already established a ladies ' college at Hamilton, the Eastern section had made arrangements to have a college, and the Central section intended to establish a si- milar school. The previous spring, he said, he had learned that Trafalgar Castle would be available for the Central section, and he had brought the matter before the Methodist Con- Rev. J.E. Sanderson ference, the governing body of the church, where the information was very favorably re- ceived. Sheriff Reynolds had since made an offer of the building and eight acres of land for the comparatively small sum of $45, 000, he told the meeting, producing the written offer for all to see. The castle was well suited for use as a college, in good condition, and centrally located, said Mr, Sanderson. In addition, it would provide a great material advantage to the town, bringing in $15, 000 to $20, 000 a year which would be spent in Whitby. He urged im- mediate action on the matter, for other locali- ties in the central section were preparing to bid for the proposed college. Following other speeches in support of the venture, the matter was put to a vote and carried unanimously that it was desirable to establish a female seminary in the town of Whitby. A second motion asked that the chair- man. Mayor J. Hamer Greenwood and secre- tary, H. B. Taylor, manager of the Dominion Bank, petition the Ontario County Council for $10,000 to aid in establishing the school. This too was carried. To enable the project to get under way, a committee was formed to prepare stock books and solicit funds, con- sisting of Mr. Sanderson, County Judge Zaccheus Burnham, Chester Draper, owner of Whitby Harbor, and Dr. R. J. Gunn, a former mayor and surgeon at the county jail. Within two weeks. Mayor Greenwood, Mr. Taylor, J. B. Powell, Richard Hatch, John Ham Perry, James Byrne, James Holden, Rev. J. Eraser, and Rev. S. T. Gibbs were added to the committee. The initial meeting was followed Feb. 10, 1874, with a convention at Trafalgar Castle to consider whether to accept the sheriff ' s offer. A large number of influential Methodists in- cluding the ' president of the Wesleyan Female College at Hamilton, and representatives of the Toronto Conference from Belleville, Bowmanville, Darlington, Pickering, Canning- ton and Whitby attended. A guided tour of the castle commenced at 10 a.m., followed by a meeting in the spacious drawing room. The convention then adjourned for lunch and met at 2 p. m. in the town hall. Mr. Sanderson reported that stock amount- ing to $8, 000 had already been subscribed in Whitby, and estimated the town should be able to supply $15, 000 of the $60, 000 required to establish a college. He suggested a provision- al board of directors should be formed, a charter obtained, and the project pushed for- ward as quickly as possible. Questions arose from the floor as to the commercial value of the college, to which Dr. Rice, president of the Wesleyan Female College replied. He told the meeting that at his college there were 130 boarders and 20 teachers. With 100 pupils at- a fee of $200 each per year, revenue would be $20, 000, he said. Only $14,000 was required to maintain that number with the necessary servants and teachers, he added. Addition of the expense account and depreciation of furniture would bring the total to $16, 000, leaving a balance of