FIRST - Secondary School in the Talbot Settlement
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Bon Echo
N 42° 46.638 W 081° 12.247
17T E 483303 N 4736105
Erected 100 years later to commemorate the first secondary school in the Talbot Settlement
Waymark Code: WMZQ2K
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 12/19/2018
Published By:Groundspeak Regular Member Mark1962
Views: 2

A plaque and cairn located on the corner of Walnut and Stanley Streets in St Thomas, a short distance from the historic Old St Thomas Church. The plaque reads:

NEAR SITE OF
THE TALBOT SEMINARY
FIRST SCHOOL
OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
IN TALBOT SETTLEMENT
1824
ERECTED BY
ELGIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY
1924

There is very limited information online about the school that the plaque refers to. The Elgin Historical Society installed the plaque, and on their website the provide the following details:

The Talbot Seminary

This plaque was erected in 1924 by the Elgin Historical Society. It marks the site of the first school of secondary education in the Talbot Settlement. Near the corner of Stanley and Walnut Streets, the site was purchased from Mahlon Burwell for the purpose of moving the school from its first site at Stanley and Talbot Street. The school has been moved to a thrid site and now serves as a residence at 6 St. Anne's Place.

A primary school operated directly beside the Seminary. That building was moved to the Site of the Central School (the present site of Wellington Street School) and later demolished.

Source: http://www.elginhistoricalsociety.ca/exhibits/content/talbot-seminary
The date of the school (1824) coincides with the completion date of the Old St Thomas Church, and a Wikipedia article states that "The first incumbent, the Rev. Alexander Mackintosh, served from 1824 to 1829, was also the village’s schoolmaster" (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_St._Thomas_Church)

While there is nothing online about the school. there is of course much to read about the Talbot Settlement. The following is from the Ontario Genealogical Society website:
The Talbot Settlement
THE BEGINNING OF ELGIN COUNTY SETTLEMENT
When John Graves Simcoe toured Upper Canada as its first Lieutenant-Governor, his young aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Thomas Talbot , first met and fell in love with Ontario wilds. Having resigned from the Army Talbot wanted enough land at the mouth of the Kettle Creek to establish a small agricultural community. Unable to secure enough land at that location Talbot was able to secure 5,000 acres at Port Talbot. Much of Southwestern Ontario had been surveyed by 1803. Most of the land was owned by speculators, the Crown and the Anglican Church. Talbot was faced with the problem of settling immigrants in spite of the difficulty caused by these large tracts of forests which blocked communication and hindered travel. Talbot was to receive two hundred acres for each of the settlers he located on his original grant. Talbot, however, settled the immigrants on land in Aldborough and Dunwich Townships, as well as taking his 200 acres in those townships.

As time passed, Talbot placed settlers on lands in Southwold, Yarmouth, Malahide and Bayham townships in Elgin County. In the years between 1816 and 1818, Scottish settlers came to the Talbot Settlement; many of these were given land in Col. Talbot’s reserved area of Aldborough and Dunwich townships. Other Highlanders were given land in South Dorchester and North Yarmouth. In Malahide and Bayham townships the southerly part was settled by people from Nova Scotia. Elgin County was part of Middlesex county from 1837 to 1851. Prior to that, Elgin county was part of the London District.

Source: https://elgin.ogs.on.ca/the-talbot-settlement/
FIRST - Classification Variable: Place or Location

Date of FIRST: 01/01/1824

More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]

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