Thornhill Public School & Quilt exhibit

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Thornhill Public School & Quilt

The First School

The First School

The school building for Union School Section No. 1 Markham and Vaughan, better known as the Thornhill Schoolhouse, was built in 1847 following the establishment of the Ryerson School System. The school was built at the north east corner of Jane and Elizabeth Streets to serve the students of the south end of the village as far as Steeles to the south and Bathurst to the west.

This attractive red brick building with a small belfry and frame addition was built at a cost of $875.00. The school faced east and had plenty of windows for natural light. The census of 1861 shows that it could accommodate 100 students. A small shed was located near by for the storage of the winter supply of wood and coal.

The original Thornhill Public School,
U.S.S. No. 1 Markham - Vaughan. [n.d.].
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Sign board from the first school built in 1847.
Thornhill Public School Collection.
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After serving the children of Thornhill for 76 years the school was burned to the ground in May, 1923 just as a new school building was nearing completion further south on Yonge St. The fire was the work of a young arsonist who had started several fires around the village that year.

Memories of the old school

“The Schoolyard was on the corner of Jane and Elizabeth Sts, well situated with hills for sleighing, and a creek running through the lower part. A high boardfence enclosed it, with turnstile gates to keep in any cows that might be pastured there. The one room brick schoolhouse had a beautifully coved and arched ceiling with fine big cross beams and king posts all nicely chamfered off. It was built in 1847 and burned sometime in the ‘20s. The school was supposed to be heated by a big heater in one corner. This was fired by the teacher who was Mr Tom McCormick in my time. There was a well in the yard but no water. There were even a couple of old apple trees covered with green apples too hard to eat, but handy as missiles. I’ve always appreciated these educational advantages, and remain thankful that I didn’t have to attend the big, fancy schools of today”

Thoreau MacDonald

"The Old Schoolhouse, Thornhill"
Greeting card by Thoreau MacDonald [n.d.]
Thornhill Archives 2002.15
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A popular prank to play at Halloween was to join the rope of the school bell to the one in the tower of the nearby Methodist Church at Centre and Elizabeth Streets. The ropes would then be set in motion causing the bells to ring loudly at three o'clock in the morning.

Bell from Thornhill Public School
Thornhill Archives 2003.86
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School Photos


School photo c.1903. Students with their teacher W. J. Allison. Thornhill Archives 2002.15 Larger image	School photo c.1917. Thornhill Photograph Collection Larger image	School photo 1922. This may have been the last school photo taken at the old school. Findlay Papers 2004.1 Larger image

Teachers and Principals

When the Thornhill Schoolhouse was burned to the ground in May, 1923, more than just the building was lost. Also destroyed were seventy-six years of school records that had been stored in the building. Fortunately, there were those who had the foresight to record what they could about the teachers who had served at the school.

List of Thornhill Public School teachers 1847-1952 Thompson family scrapbook Weaver Collection 2003.81 Larger image
	Henry Brown, teacher in the old Thornhill Public School during the 1890's. Weaver Collection 2003.81 Larger image	Henry J. Bolitho, principal of the old Thornhill Public School from 1898-1901. Weaver Collection 2003.81 Larger image

The School Site
The school was built on part of Lot 30, Concession 1, Vaughan Township in 1847. The building, positioned to face east as was the custom in order to take advantage of daylight, stood on a slight hill above a natural stream.

Several early maps show the location of the school in relation to nearby buildings, several of which stand to this day. The land on which the school sat was originally part of the Dundurn Village survey conducted in 1825 by Sir Allan Napier MacNab, the Brooke family and Attorney General D'Arcy Boulton. The school, however, was built some time after their interests in this land, and the unsuccessful settlement of Dundurn, had come to an end.

Thomas Ratcliff 1859 Map of Thornhill [inset] (Archives of Ontario Ref: D-9)

Thomas Ratcliff's 1859 Map of Thornhill
(detail) showing the location of the school.
Thornhill Archives - Map Collection (M-1-14)
The original map is in the Archives of Ontario.
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Thornhill Fire Insurance Plan, 1910, showing location of school.

Thornhill Fire Insurance Plan, 1910 showing location of the school.
Thornhill Maps and Plans Collection
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Thornhill Fire Insurance Plan, 1910, showing location of school (inset).

Thornhill Fire Insurance Plan, 1910 showing location of the school (detail).
Thornhill Maps and Plans Collection
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