The Ontario School for the Blind
Text from the plaque
In 1869, on the recommendation of the Rev. Egerton Ryerson, Superintendent of Education, funds were allocated to establish the first provincial school for blind children. The Ontario Institution for the Education of the Blind, which included the nearby gate-keepers lodge, opened on May 1, 1872, with eleven students. Under its first Principal, Dr. E. S. Wiggins, the residential institution combined elementary school subjects with manual and vocational training, and soon gained recognition for its contribution to the theory and practice of education the blind. By 1881 enrolment had risen to 201. Renamed the Ontario School for the Blind in 1913, it later introduced secondary school courses and in 1974 became The W. Ross Macdonald School in honour of Ontario's Lieutenant-Governor.
Transcribed from the marker, not summarised.
Find the place
The City of Brantford
At MacDonald School For The Blind
at St Paul Avenue and Brant Avenue
N 43 08.912 W 80 16.805
Recorded June 2005. Check current access before visiting.
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Visitors' notes
February 9, 2009
This is a great picture of the Superintendent's residence, known as the "Sardarghar" or chief's house. I had the pleasure of living in it with my family, the Armstrongs, from 1955 to 1972. The property and facilities at the former O.S.B as I knew it were the best. Tom