Carleton Place High School

Story

Carleton Place High School is a high school serving the town of Carleton Place, in Eastern Ontario, Canada. It is a member of the Upper Canada District School Board, and draws pupils from Carleton Place and the surrounding Lanark County area.HistoryThe story of high schools in Carleton Place is a lengthy one with many interesting sidelights. The corner stone of the present High School (Prince of Wales High School) was laid in 1923 and under it was placed a scroll containing the following information: The High School has made many moves since it was started, about 1848, as a Grammar School. Mr. Nelson, a highly educated gentleman, was the first teacher. The first building used was a frame one on the Central School grounds.From there it was moved to Hurd’s Hall on Bell Street, being the upper flat of the building for many years known as McKay’s Bakery. After that the present Holiness Church on the corner of Bridge and Herriott Streets, was used for a short time. Then the north-east room in the present Central School was used.From here it was moved to Newman’s Hall, in the rooms now occupied as temporary quarters for a High and a Public School class. This school went back again to the Central School building for a short time, until the present used building on High Street was ready for occupation in 1882.Note: Newman’s Hall is the building now occupied by the Brewers’ Retail Store and the school on High Street is the present Prince of Wales School.For nearly 30 years the people of Carleton Place were considering the question of better school accommodation, but owing to the exigencies of the times, such as loss of population, removal of industries and expenditures on other public undertakings, small progress was made. However, with the rapid growth of the rising generation during the past few years, we have become convinced that more school accommodation should be provided.