Text from the plaque:
ENOCH TURNER SCHOOLHOUSE
In 1849, this building opened as Ward Street School, Toronto's first free school. Enoch Turner, a wealthy local brewer, financed the construction and operation of this school on land donated by Little Trinity Church. Its students were neighbourhood children of poor immigrant families, many of whom were Irish. The Toronto Board of Education assumed responsibility in 1851 when municipally funded education was adopted, and renamed it Trinity Street School. In 1859, the school moved to a new location and this structure and property were returned to Little Trinity Church. Following the addition of the west wing in 1869, the building served as a Sunday school and community hall. Threatened with demolition in the late 1960s, the Gothic Revival schoolhouse was saved and restored by concerned citizens including architect Eric Arthur. It re-opened as a museum in 1972 and remains the oldest school structure in Toronto.
History of the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse
Established and funded in 1848 by local brewer Enoch Turner, Toronto's first free school educated the children of the area's many poor immigrants from 1849-1859. Because the families were often from Cork in what is now Eire (Southern Ireland), the neighbourhood became known as Corktown.
Historians believe that Henry Bowyer Lane (1817-1878), an English architect who worked in Canada from about 1841 to 1847 designed both the schoolhouse and Little Trinity Church at the same time. He was also responsible for several other important Toronto buildings including the City Hall and St. Lawrence Market.
Closed as a school in 1859, Enoch Turner Schoolhouse has had a chequered history remaining in continuous use through the years. Until the 1960s it was a Sunday school and Parish hall for nearby Little Trinity Church which, in 1869, added the West Hall. It became a Boer War recruitment centre in 1899, a serviceman's home away from home during two World Wars, a soup kitchen serving 1500 people a week in the"Dirty Thirties", a Little Trinity Church Neighbourhood youth clubhouse in the 1950s and a temporary meeting place after the church's fire. In the 1960s, it was home to concerts, community youth programs and performing and visual arts events. Then, in a sad state of disrepair, the building was in danger of being torn down.
Enter architect Eric Arthur and local citizens who lovingly saved and restored it for Governor General Roland Michener to open as an historic site and museum in 1972. Now one of the oldest, continuously operated buildings in Toronto, Mr. Turner's schoolhouse remains a unique architectural and historical treasure.
Designated a heritage building, important for its history and architecture under the Ontario Heritage Act in 2000, the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse is the city's oldest surviving such building. A not-for-profit charitable foundation operates it and runs several school children's and citizens' programs here. Through role playing with."Mrs. Henderson" at the blackboard, students experience first hand what a Victorian school was like with its wooden desks, slate writing boards, discipline and the starched collars and pinafores. (The children love it.) Its program includes lectures, walking tours, and special events. A heritage resource and a living history museum, it is also available for rental. Businessman Enoch Turner would approve.
Information taken from: visit website