Then: Memorial School

The 176th Battalion - the Niagara Rangers - was a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. Based in St. Catharines, Ontario, the unit began recruiting in January 1916 in Lincoln and Welland counties. Their training ground and campsite was situated on Spring Street in Niagara Falls, where Memorial School was built in 1921.

Shortly before the 176th Battalion was mobilized to fight overseas in 1916, crowds of well-wishers converged on their training grounds in a display of patriotic support. It was Victoria Day, and there was a review of the troops at the market square just behind city hall. Then, the battalion paraded to the Main and Ferry intersection.Public response was impressive, with The Niagara Falls Review reporting: "There were great crowds at all points along the route oi the march."

To commemorate the fallen from that war, the school was named on December 10, 1921. The 8-room schoolhouse was officially opened by Lord Byng, then Governor General of Canada, on April 22, 1922. In 1929, six classrooms and an auditorium were added to the school. A sundial dedicated to the 15 former Memorial students who had died in the First World War was unveiled on November 11, 1946.

Memorial School was known for many years for their "Memorial Harmonica Band", which won first prize at the Canadian National Exhibition.

Now: Royal Canadian Legion

Memorial School was closed in 1981 as a result of declining enrolment.

This building is now the home of "A. C. McCallum Branch 479" of the Royal Canadian Legion.

Niagara falls Museums. Undated. Early Schools of Niagara Falls. https://niagarafallsmuseums.ca/discover-our-history/history-notes/schools.aspx

Niagara Falls Public Library. 2017. Niagara Falls - Then & Now: A Photographic Journey Through The Years. Memorial School / Royal Canadian Legion.

Zavitz, Sherman. 2007. 176th Rangers wrote proud chapter in city history. Niagara Falls Review, Saturday, November 10, 2007.

Niagara Falls Then and Now
A collaborative project
Niagara Falls Museums - Niagara Falls Public Library - Dept. of Geography and Tourism Studies,Brock University.
Original newspaper series by Sherman Zavitz, Official Historian for the City of Niagara Falls from 1994 - 2019.

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Copyright for all content remains with original creators.