A HISTORY OF THE JAMES C. BALD SCHOOL AREA

JAMES C BALD

1935

I have been requested by the trustees to write up the early history of this section. Unfortunately the early records have been destroyed or lost, so the very early events such as the construction and management of the Pioneer school of the district, the manner and names of men who were responsible for its being, the names of early teachers and all pertaining to it have to be gleaned from a few old records and from the recollection of a few of the older residents.  The land which constitutes this district had been granted prior to 1800 to discharged soldiers who had formerly constituted the garrison at Fort Niagara, and had fought with Wolfe at Quebec. A Lieutenant Brown was one who had received a grant in this area.

These soldiers did not, to a very great extent endeavor to clear and develop the territory, but sold their grants to settlers who began to come in about 1800 from Scotland and constituted the pioneers of the district, together with U.E.L.’s who arrived in the last years of the eighteenth century and these U.E.L.’s were granted two hundred acres for each male.

Lt. Col. Cruikshank, government archivist at Ottawa in his compilation of documents, re war 1912, mentions Brown’s Bridge and on a very early map the road leading from Brown’s Bridge to the Short Hills is indicated. This road is now the Town Line between Thorold and Pelham, and no doubt, with the trails along the Chippewa Creek as the Welland River was then called, constituted the main traffic routes of the period.

Near Brown’s Bridge, the first rude log school was constructed on Lot 260 in Thorold Township on the banks of the river. The furnishings in accord with the pioneer times were of the crudest. The pupils sat on benches of split logs, no desks. A shelf ran along one side of the building in which the older pupils could rest their books when writing. A huge fire-place was the method of heating the structure. This school was simply a community undertaking and was maintained by the families of the settlement-each paying so much per quarter for each pupil, supplying a quantity of wood and boarding the teacher a stated period. The one school master of whom I have heard was David McAlpine, a discharged soldier, whose only qualifications were that he could teach the three R’s and keep discipline. The amount of money paid him was very meagre. My grandparents’ family attended this school

I fail to find any mention of a School section as we know today, during the existence of this school.

The minutes of a meeting of the “Welland Library Company” held in this school house near Brown’s Bridge, November 26, 1825, illustrate the interest taken in it by its members. The shareholders present were David Thompson, James Brown, George Bradshaw, Nathan Hancock, Amos Bradshaw, John Hellems, Josiah Page, Patrick O’Reilly, Alex Brown and George Shregley, These men were not residents of one thickly settled neighborhood, but lived miles apart and instead of having the good roads of to-day on which to travel, were obliged to go to this meeting by the bridle paths which mostly formed the highways of those days.

At that time there was not even a hamlet where the town now stands; there was no village of Merrittsville; the “Aqueduct” did not then exist; the first sod had not yet been turned on the Welland Canal; the beautiful farms that to-day line both banks of the Chippewa were just being reclaimed from a state of wilderness; the settlers’ rude homes were far apart. The pioneers of that day realized the necessity of improving the minds of the people of this young country and set about the collection of some literature out of which to form the nucleus of a circulating library. Some of the books were Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, Paley’s Philosophy, Washington’s Official Letters. For a period of upwards of thirty years the Welland Library Company flourished, holding their annual meetings, sometimes at O”Reilly’s Bridge. A short time previous to the year 1858, the people of the rising village of Merrittsville began an agitation for the starting of a Mechanics’ Institute. They negotiated with the Welland Library Company for an amalgamation of the proposed Mechanics’ Institute with their company and completed arrangements in 1858, the year of the incorporation of the Village of Welland.

In religion the early settlers were mostly Quakers or Presbyterians. In 1797 the first meeting of the Quakers was held in Pelham, where the old Quaker Church once stood. The people of Presbyterian faith helped maintain a church along the River near Port Robinson. Some of the subscribers of that church in this district were Thomas Burgar, Thomas Bald, David Thompson. The list was dated 1820.

The second school, of which we have better records, was situated at the Cross Roads-a frame construction with wooden seats and desk- a great improvement on the earlier school. This school must have been a fair size for we are told that in the winter as many as sixty or seventy pupils attended. Many were young men and women. Robert Beattie was one of the teachers of this school, and some of the names of pupils attending this building were McKinley, Moore, Dunn, Beattie, Dirks, Brown, Bradshaw, Blanchard, Philip. I have no doubt this school was the first in the section under the organization as we know it now, with trustees elected and government inspection under the Egerton Ryerson Public School Act. It is interesting to note that the sum of two dollars was granted in 1871 to the Egerton Ryerson Memorial Fund by the trustees of this section.

This school has been known for many years as the Cross Roads School. This seems a very indefinite appilation-but in the early days it was a very definite place-for here one of the earliest trails crossed the Town Line on the main road in this district. This school was erected about 1840 and continued in use till about 1860. During this period Captain John Brown was Secretary Treasurer. Several books are in existence of the Free Public School Library established in this school, and conducted according to the regulations adopted by the Council of Public Instruction for Ontario. This building was destroyed by fire and a new building was constructed on the Pelham side of the Town Line which we know as the Old School. This building served as a school until 1917, when a movement was promoted by the Inspector and trustees for an alteration of the boundaries of the section, so that the school would be more convenient to a larger number of pupils and also to accommodate the fast growing school population caused by the industrial development of Welland. Many meetings were held and the ratepayers eventually chose the site of the present brick school. The Townships of Thorold and Pelham passed the necessary by-law authorizing the trustees to borrow $3200.00 and proceed with the erection of the building. In 1919 the attendance was such that two teachers were employed for a short time in the one building. In 1921 a temporary frame school was built on land owned by the N.S.& T. Railway. The attendance at these schools has been at the maximum for several years. The following have held the office of Secretary Treasure of the section:

Captain John Brown, 30 years or more; Peter McKinley, 6 years; George A. Philips, 9 years; Philip Dirk, 3 years; Alexander Upper, 3 years; John Gainer, 6 years; James C. Bald, 20 years; and Albert E. Venables, the present Secretary.

In February 1934, the School Board and citizens of this section presented James C. Bald with a beautiful silver tea service in recognition of his having served the section some thirty years as trustee-over twenty as Secretary. The gift was gratefully accepted by the retiring Secretary Treasurer, and in reply stated that it would be a reminder of the confidence of the ratepayers had in him for so many years.

This short sketch was compiled by James C. Bald in January 1935 and has been made as authentic as possible.

This school took an active interest in School Fairs of the County and on one occasion won First Prize and $25.00 in the competition. A silver cup was won by the school at the Welland Rose Show on three consecutive occasions and thus they were allowed to retain it. The cup had been donated by R. Cooper, M.P.P. for Welland, for the best exhibit of flowers from any school in the county.

In May 23, 1939, the Women’s Institute of Quaker Road presented the Senior School with two elm trees which were planted in front of the school. A tree planting ceremony was held in the school. Mr. James Bald acted as chairman. Humerous addresses were given and the children participated by singing patriotic songs. Mr. bald suggested that when the trees grew older a bronze plaque be placed on them with the proper inscriptions. The trees were planted in honor of King George VI’s and Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Canada.

In 1943 crowded conditions in both schools made it necessary to consider the building of a new school. During the year several ratepayers’ meetings were held to look into the new school situation. It was decided that a new school was impossible nit war conditions improved.

In 1947 plans were approved for the building of a new school on Thorold Road at Stop 19. On September 22, 1948, the new five room school was opened with an enrolment of 194. The school section was enlarged to include pupils from the Shelter; and the triangle to Stop 18 Road which was formerly a part of Quaker Road School Section.

The staff of the new school included H.F. Kyes. Principal; H.A. Hodgkins, Louise Stillson, Patricia Knowles, Margaret Tuck and Nellie Johnson. Public School Inspectors were George E. Tait and Robert Carter.

On January 2, 1950, the new school was taken over by the City of Welland along with the annexed portion of the Township as far as Willson Road on the west and from the Welland River on the south to Thorold Road on the north.

At annexation the school was named the James C. Bald School in honor of the former secretary of the school district.  Prepared by F.H. Burwell, Principal J.C. Bald School, December 1970.