Mount Benson Elementary School (Nanaimo)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mount Benson Elementary School | |
| Address | |
| 4355 Jingle Pot Road Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada |
|
| Information | |
| School board | School District 68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith |
| School type | Public Elementary school |
| Grades | K-7 |
| Language | English |
| Founded | 1875 (Current Building 1950) |
| Communities served | Wellington neighbourhood |
| Homepage | http://www.mountbensonschool.ca |
Mount Benson Elementary is a public elementary school located in the Wellington neighbourhood of Nanaimo, British Columbia and is part of School District 68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith.
Opened on the historic Wellington Public School Site, Mount Benson Elementary is the oldest operating school site in British Columbia.
Contents |
[edit] History
The original school site was provided by Robert Dunsmuir of Dunsmuir & Diggle Co to accommodate a public school for their new coal town of Wellington and the families working in the Wellington Colliery. The first school on this site was called "Wellington Public School" and opened in May 20, 1875 as part of the Wellington School District which had been created a year earlier.[1] In 1904, a few years after James Dunsmuir closed the Wellington mine[2] and moved his buildings to Ladysmith, the school was destroyed by fire[3] . A new one room school was completed in 1906 and was later expanded into a two room school. At this time most of the children's fathers worked for another of Robert Dunsmuir's creations, the E&N Railway[4]. Wellington was the main works yard and the school was located adjacent to both the main station and the roundhouse. World War II created teacher shortages across British Columbia which was the catalyst[5] for Wellington School District being amalgamated into what became the Nanaimo-Ladysmith School district. The second school was destroyed by fire shortly after 1944.
In 1950 the school was rebuilt as a 3 classroom school, at which point it received a name change and became Mount Benson Elementary School. The school continued to expand and currently has 10 classrooms.
[edit] Name
Mount Benson Elementary got its name from Mount Benson, which the school has an excellent view of, and because it was the public school for children who lived on the north-east slope of the Mountain. The Mountain itself was named after Doctor Alfred Benson[6][7], who was an Employee of the Hudson's Bay Company[6], the first doctor in the area, a photographer[7], a collier and a friend of Robert Dunsmuir, the founder of Wellington. The name of "Wellington" was moved to the secondary school level with the opening of a Wellington Secondary School a few years after Mount Benson Elementary.
[edit] References
- ^ "Wellington Public School 1875- 1944, Mount Benson School 1950 - 1990 By Carol Jepson. Nanaimo Community Archives
- ^ Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online - James Dunsmuir. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved on 2007-12-11.
- ^ New York Times. New York Times (Saturday, 1904-August-20). Retrieved on 2007-12-11.
- ^ Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online - Robert Dunsmuir. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved on 2007-12-11.
- ^ Victoria (CP) - Tuesday, July 28, 1942
- ^ a b Captain John T. Walbran, British Columbia Coast Names - Their Origin and History, Douglas & McIntyre, 1909.
- ^ a b David Mattison. Camera Workers: The British Columbia, Alaska & Yukon Photographic Directory, 1858-1950 - B - Volume 1 (1858-1900). Retrieved on 2007-12-11.
