Feller College

Feller College, also known as Institute Feller, was a co-educational boarding school founded in 1836 by Mme. Henriette Feller,^[1][2] a Swiss Protestant Missionary, who intended to save the French-speaking Quebec population from "the idolatry of Catholicism".^[3] Beginning as a one room school (which still exists as a museum ^[4] in the small farming community of Grande Ligne, 35 miles southeast of Montreal, Quebec) it grew to become a large four-story building with a farm and church. It is the oldest French Protestant church in Canada.^[5] It successfully produced many French speaking Baptist ministers until the Second World War.

Second World War

It closed during the Second World War (1942–1946) and was used as a prisoner of war camp ^[6] for German officers.^[7] It reopened shortly after the war.

After the war it accepted many English speaking students and faced a crisis: redefining its original mission. It was unable to adapt to the new social realities of Canada and it closed in June 1967.

Hostel

The building was last used in the summer of 1967 as a hostel for visitors to Montreal's World's Fair:^[8] Expo 67. In December, 1968, as the remaining beautiful greystone four-story building burned down, it was caught in a dramatic series of photographs ^[9]

A large reunion ^[10] was held in October 2001 near the school grounds. The community of Grande-Ligne became the community of St-Blaise-sur-Richelieu in 1968.

See also

Three alumni have created web pages in memory of their school:

References