A leaflet by Bott (1975) described the Laura Secord Public School 60th Anniversary Diamond Jubilee on April 25th, 1975. It outlined the historical development of the Laura Secord Public School in detail. Back in 1844, Queenston's first school was built in the northeast corner of the current school grounds. It consisted simply of two stone classrooms, and served 120 pupils. Due to the old building becoming "antiquated", it was upgraded. The new plan was "for a fine red brick structure with two large cloakrooms within each of the two classrooms, a library, teacher's room, pressure water fountains, indoor lavatories and a basement playroom". This renovation allowed the school to reopen in its new state as the Laura Secord Public School on September 18th, 1915. The building was renovated again with the addition of a new wing containing 2 more classrooms, a hallway, and a teacher's room, which opened on March 16th, 1953. An article written by Jean Huggins titled "Open Two-Room Addition To Laura Secord School in Queenston Village" corroborates most of the details listed in the leaflet. It goes into further details regarding the costs of each of the renovations: the 1915 renovation cost around $23,000, and the new wing cost $60,000. Huggins' article and Bott's leaflet both attribute financial assistance from donations by the Queenston Women's Institute for the original 1915 renovation, and by Mr. John D. Larkin for the 1953 expansion.

O Canada was played by the Fruit Grower's Band, and there were speeches by different individuals such as Mrs. Dr. Fairfield, the District President of Women's Institutes at the time. Finally, the leaflet outlined the program for its own event, with speeches, remarks, performances from the school choir, as well various skits performed by pupils of the school (Bott 1975).

The building itself is used as a lower campus for the school. Visitors are not permitted unless otherwise pre-arranged. The surrounding park is mobility-accessible.

Phone: (905) 262 – 1239 ext. 200
Email: willowbank@willowbank.ca
Website: http://willowbank.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/willowbank/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willowbank_school/?hl=en

To donate to the not-for-profit institution, please visit the link below!

www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/willowbank/

Bott, A. (1975, April 25). Laura Secord Public School Diamond Jubilee. Diamond Jubilee Programme Leaflet. Found within Laura Secord Public School, Queenston: Diamond Jubilee, 1915-1975, Dewey Decimal: 372.9713338 Bot. St. Catharines Public Library.

Ferguson, Sarah. (2011, September 15). Partnering with Willowbank provides a positive opportunity. Niagara Advance, p. 10. Found within Willowbank, Dewey Decimal 720.971338 Wil. St. Catharines Public Library.

Huggins, J. (1953, March 16). Open two-room addition to Laura Secord School in Queenston Village. ~The St. Catharines Standard. Found within Queenston, history and historic buildings, Dewey Decimal: 971.338 Que. St. Catharines Public Library.

Jeffords, S. (2012, March 23). Willowbank buys Laura Secord, p. ~A7. Found within Willowbank, Dewey Decimal 720.971338 Wil. St. Catharines Public Library.

Any newspaper articles referenced can be found in the Special Collections of the St. Catharines Public Library. It is highly recommended that anyone interested in the community and colonial history of Queenston (or many other locations in Niagara) go to the library to have a look! More information on their website: https://www.myscpl.ca/

More information on Willowbank found here: http://willowbank.ca/