Trafalgar Castle School - Yearbook (Whitby, Ontario Canada)

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$4,000 in profits. Dr. Rice outlined how stock was raised for the college, pointing out that the establishment for which the stockholders had paid $24, 000 was now worth over $100, 000, and dividends on stock amounted to six per cent. He estimated that the college spent $20, 000 a year in Hamilton, and no pecuniary value could be placed on the moral benefit which it brought to the community. The next question was: Will it succeed? The Hon. R. Read of Belleville answered that it would if the church extended its patronage as proposed. The rapid growth of the country and the increase in wealth and population make a greater number of colleges necessary, he said. To back up his convictions, he moved that a provisional board of directors be appointed immediately, a charter obtained, the neces- sary amount of stock raised, and negotiations begin with Sheriff Reynolds for the purchase of Trafalgar Castle on as favorable terms as possible. This was carried unanimously. Ac- cordingly, the following were appointed pro- visional directors: John McDonald, Rev. Dr. Woodward, Hon J. C. Atkins, Toronto; Rev. D. C. McDowell, Barrie; Rev. J. E. Sanderson, James Holden, Chester Draper, Dr. Ro J. Gunn, Judge Burnham, J. B. Powell, J. Hamer Greenwood, Joshua Richardson, H. B. Taylor, and Richard Hatch, Whitby; J. B. Bickell, Brooklin; Aaron Ross, Prince Albert; Rev. W. Scott, chairman of the Whitby District; Hon. T. N. Gibbs, Major Grierson, and James Luke, Oshawa; Rev. John Bredin and Thomas McClung, Bowman- ville; Asa E. Wallbridge, Newcastle; Rev. S. S. Nelles, Cobourg; and Hon. R. Read and Esia Holton, Belleville. These men were chosen to represent the communities which would be served by the new college. Rev. Mr. Sanderson was appointed convener of the board, and a vote of thanks was tendered to Dr. Rice for the information he presented to the conven- tion which convinced its members to proceed with the college project. The provisional directors met for the first time Feb. 17 at the town hall. After a full consideration of the proposal, it was moved by Rev. Mr. Scott, seconded by Aaron Ross and unanimously resolved That in the judgement of this meeting that the scheme of founding ' The Ontario Ladies ' College ' in the Town of Whitby is deserving of public support; and providing the Town of Whitby shall liberally sustain the effort by subscribing stock to the amount of $15, 000 inclusive, if necessary, of a portable bonus from the municipal council; the meeting is of the opinion that the claims of the institution can be presented to the outside committees as to receive the balance of the requisite, providing the premises can be pur- chased as a reasonable price. This was the first time the name ' Ontario Ladies ' College ' was used. It is not known how the name was selected, but it may have had some relation to Lake Ontario which could be seen from Trafalgar Castle, or Ontario County of which Whitby was the county town . A public meeting followed in the town hall James Holden the same evening at which the resplution was presented. Following appeals from Rev. Mr. Sanderson and other directors, it passed unan- imously, and the matter was left in the hands of the people of Whitby. In a letter to the Christian Guardian in Toronto, the weekly newspaper of the Methodist Church of Canada, Rev. Mr. Sanderson out- lined the progress of the movement to found the college. He explained how the Methodist church had been quietly assessing the possi- bilities of obtaining Trafalgar Castle since it came on the market early in 1873. When brought up at the Toronto Conference, the sub- ject was received favorably and the president had advised Mr. Sanderson to obtain it if the price was reasonable. The general feeling of the directors by April, 1874, was that the building and the property could be obtained for about $35, 000 with $15, 000 coming from the people of Whitby. With some $12, 000 sub- scribed, a crisis developed and a bargain was closed with Sheriff Reynolds for the building and nine acres of land for $35, 000, with the sheriff taking $5, 000 stock himself. The ori- ginal price was to have been $45, 000 for the building and eight acres. Although Mr. Sanderson did not elaborate on the cause of the crisis, his son explained it in a letter many years later. I remember while sitting at dinner in the old parsonage at Whitby a wire came for my father from Toronto saying that twenty thou- sand dollars must be secured before the open- ing of the Bank the next morning or the proper- ty would pass into the hands of the Grey Nuns. My father did not finish his dinner, but rushed off to raise the money, he said. Rev. Mr. Sanderson reported in his letter

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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

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to the Christian Guardian that 10 gentlemen assumed the financial responsibility and paid the $20, 000 to meet the urgent claim. How the Grey Nuns became involved in the negotiations is not known, but the quick action of Mr. Sanderson and Sheriff Reynolds saved the Ontario Ladies ' College and assured its future. Work went ahead to organize a joint stock company, with expectations of raising $20, 000 to $25, 000 in communities from Kingston to Owen Sound. In June, 1874, the provisional directors and the Whitby District representatives of the Methodist Church sent reports to the Toronto Conference asking its support for the Ontario Ladies ' College. The conference, the govern- ing body for the Toronto area, appointed a 10- man committee, including Dr. Egerton Ryerson, a leading Methodist and Superinten- dent of Education for Ontario, to examine the reports. Following a study of the requests, the committee recommended that the Confer- ence accept the college as a connexional in- stitution, extending to it the patronage of the Conference without assuming any financial responsibility. Secondly, it recommended that the college be placed under the supervision and patronage of the Toronto Conference, with authority to appoint officers and visitors as may be granted from time to time by the General Conference in accordance with the bylaws of the institution. Upon receiving the committee ' s report, the Toronto Conference accepted the recommen- dations and appointed Revs. Dr. Nelles, E. H. Dewart, and W. H. Withrow as visitors to re- port on the progress of the college to the-Con- ference. On a recommendation from the directors, the conference appointed Rev. Mr. Sanderson as principal and chief resident officer responsible for the moral and domestic government of the college, as well as its educational work. Rev. James Roy was appointed as the college ' s first professor. Throughout the summer of 1874, Rev. Mr. Sanderson made regular reports to the Guardian on the progress of raising the stock. In the issue of July 8, he reported that about $2,000 was subscribed at the Toronto Confer- ence and another $3, 000 collected by Methodist ministers in the Toronto area. Two ministers canvassed Toronto where they obtained $500 each from two prominent citizens. One minister covered the area to the north, one to the east, and one to the west of the city. Another took Belleville, Cobourg and Picton, while Mr. Sanderson himself visited Brampton, Streetsville and Barrie. Everywhere he went, he invited all to visit Whitby to see Trafalgar Castle, and reported a man from Montreal had assured him that residents of that city would invest in such a grand under- taking. In the issue of July 22, Mr. Sanderson re- ported on his travels to the north and westo In Barrie, with the aid of Rev. D. C. McDowell, he obtained $600, and Orillia citi- zens, despite a depression in the lumber trade, pledged $300. One pledge of $200 and another of $100 came from Brampton, but as most of couple of hours. By July 22 the total stock raised amounted to about $28, 000, and a week later stood at $32, 500. Rev. Mr. McDowell ' s beginning of $600 had run to $2, 200, with Prince Albert, near Port Perry, taking $900, Darlington $500 and Belleville $900. On Aug. 26, the first general meeting of the stockholders of the Ontario Ladies ' College was held in the office of the Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway Company. Mr. Sanderson announced that $35, 000 of stock had been taken and the balance of the $50, 000 required would be forthcoming once the remaining circuits had been visited. Election of the first board of di- rectors followed with those chosen being: James Holden, N. G. Reynolds, G. Y. Smith, Walter Coulthard, Joshua Richardson, and J. L. Smith, Whitby; Aaron Ross, Prince Albert; Thomas McClung, Bowmanville; and W. D. Matthews, Toronto. Provision was made for the Toronto Conference to also elect members to the board. The directors at a sub sequent meeting elected Mr. Holden, managing director of the Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway, as president, and Mr. Coulthard, vice-president. F. H. Torrington, a promi- nent Toronto musician, was chosen to teach vocal and instrumental music at the college, and J. Hock as teacher of drawing and painting September 15, 1874, was set by the direc- tors as the opening date for the Ontario Ladies College, climaxing nearly a year of hard work and planning to bring the college into being. G.Y. Smith