Monday, January 29, 2007

High School, Markham


The brick two-storey school in this postcard view was built in 1892, as an addition to an older 1879 school building, which became a science lab.

Secondary school education beyond grade 8 (or the "upper fourth" as it was then known) began in 1857, when the Markham Grammar School opened on a site between Franklin and George Streets north of Church Street. In the 1860s, the school moved to the site at the corner of Joseph and Albert Streets.
Girls were not admitted to the school until 1868.
In 1871, the railway came through Markham Village, making high school-level education accessible for young people in other villages. The school became Markham High School, and students came in by train daily from places like Stouffville, Unionville and Agincourt. However, travel on local roads was still so slow that students from remoter hamlets and farms often boarded in the village during the week, going home only on weekends.

After World War II, rapid population growth led to the opening of the new and modern Markham District High School on Church Street in 1954. The old school building became the Markham Union Masonic Lodge.

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