This ongoing series showcases historic photos in the Collingwood Museum collection, with research and writing by Melissa Shaw, the museum supervisor.
Royalty and education go together when studying the naming conventions of Collingwood’s schools in the early 20th Century. The earliest schools were named after the wards they served (east, centre, and west), but something was happening in Collingwood between 1911 and 1912 that caused these early naming systems to change.
Victoria Public School was constructed on Maple Street, between Fifth and Sixth Streets, in 1884 to replace the Central School on Pine Street. In 1911, the school’s name was changed from Central to Victoria in honour of the late Queen Victoria. The original portion of the Victoria School no longer exists; however, an addition remains and is the site of the Victoria Annex development at 400 Maple Street.
On Collingwood’s east side, a new school was added in 1890 to accommodate the growing population. This new brick school was located on Napier Street and was named East Ward School. In 1911, it was renamed Connaught in honour of the Duke of Connaught, the 10th Governor General of Canada. The building’s namesake was the seventh child of Queen Victoria. Collingwood students attended this school until approximately 1961 when it was replaced by a single-storey school of the same name on Peel Street. Today, the original Connaught building is home to the Duke Lofts condominium development.
The third school to be named after royalty was the newly built King George School on Second Street. If you’re interested in learning more about the cornerstone laying for this building, please read “Here’s why a crowd gathered on Second Street in 1911.”
King George School was eventually replaced by Mountain View Elementary School on the corner of Third and Spruce Streets in 1971. Like Connaught, the King George School was repurposed and includes residential units today.
It's unclear if royal ascent was required in the naming of Victoria School or Connaught. A letter in the Collingwood Museum’s collection, however, clearly records King George’s assent in the naming of King George School. The timing of the King’s permission is curious as it clearly follows the naming of the school and begs the age-old question: Is it better to beg forgiveness or ask permission?
The letter in question was issued by the Under Secretary of State, with the Department of the Secretary of State of Canada, to the board of education in Collingwood on September 23, 1912.
The letter reads:
“I have the honour to an application made by the Board of Education of the Town of Collingwood for permission to use the title “King George” for a new school, and to inform you that His Royal Highness the Governor General is in receipt of a cablegram from the Colonial Office, in the following words: “Your dispatch 31 August, No. 475. His Majesty the King is pleased to approve title King George Collingwood Public School.”
The booklet produced for the cornerstone ceremony for Collingwood’s new school on June 23, 1911, proudly proclaims “Laying of The Corner Stone of The King George Public School”, more than a year before royal assent was issued.
If you happen to know what sparked the renaming of Collingwood’s schools in 1911, please contact Collingwood Museum staff at [email protected].
