MCKAY AVENUE SCHOOL HAS BEEN WITNESS TO HISTORY
If a landmark is colloquially defined as a visible structure that withstands the erosion of time, then the McKay Avenue School is a very important landmark — not only critical for Edmonton, but the entire province of Alberta.
“This is one of Edmonton’s hidden gems,” says Cindy Davis, manager of the Edmonton Public Schools Archives and Museum, which resides within the threestorey brick Edwardian building.
Nestled on a quiet downtown street at 10425-99 Avenue, McKay Avenue School is certainly hidden at the moment, encircled by scaffolding — a temporary inconvenience for the satisfaction of a new roof.
“We may be under construction at the moment, but we are open for the public as usual,” says Davis.
So what might the public experience when they walk through the grand wooden doors that swing under a sunrise palladium window and stone archway? To be swept back in time to the turn of the century. The building is designated as both a municipal and historic resource, as it is the oldest brick schoolhouse of its kind in Alberta.
While there were other schools built long before McKay (pronounced with a long “I” not a long “A”) Avenue School, it has survived demolition, and is cur- rently in full use as a museum and archive.
“In its day, this school played a historical role in forming the foundation of our provincial politics and public education systems,” Davis says. “It was the backdrop for many historical firsts in the province.”
But to fully appreciate the school’s role in Alberta history, you must travel back in time to Edmonton’s early years.
In the late 1800s Edmonton was booming, thanks to the Hudson’s Bay Trading Company and emergence of the railway, and saw increased need for a schoolhouse.
Three local political figures — trustees Matthew McCauley, Malcolm Groat and William Rowland — solicited the public in order to secure funds to build a one-room schoolhouse, the predecessor to the McKay Avenue School.
In 1881, with the Hudson’s Bay Company donating land on what is now 99 Avenue, the wooden structure was built with strict specifications.
The schoolhouse was not to be made with the typical uneven log-edge finish, but rather with smooth, dressed wood. It was to have a porch, double doors, eight large windows, and ten-foot ceilings. McCauley was the first chair of the public school board and extended education to everyone.
“He believed in providing education for all children, regardless of material comfort,” says Davis, “and so the doors were open to all.”
The building served as the area school for 20 years, but as Edmonton’s population grew a larger school was required. In the spring of 1904, R.J. Manson was awarded the contract to build a three-sto- rey, eight-room school — designed by architect Henry Denny Johnson — on the same grounds as the original school.
The new school would be named after Dr. William Morrison MacKay, a pioneer physician of Scottish heritage. Upon his cousin’s suggestion, MacKay sailed for Canada and became a surgeon with the Hudson’s Bay Company. In 1874 he met and married a Yukon-born Métis woman named Jane Flett, who was a member of the Gwich’in First Nations people.
Jane became MacKay’s nurse and surgical assistant, as she had excellent suturing skills. MacKay was the on-call physician during the smallpox outbreak that ravaged the First Nations people, and while he was away Jane would deal with medical emergencies. In 1898, MacKay decided to retire from the Hudson’s Bay Company and move to Edmonton to start his private practice.
Although the school was named to honour Dr. Mackay, an unfortunate incident resulted in a misspelling of the name.
“McKay Avenue was also named after Dr. MacKay, however there was originally an error in the street sign,” says Davis. “As the mason was completing the name above the school, he looked at the street sign to confirm the spelling.”
Although the street sign could be rectified, the carved stone was another matter. Coincidentally, the school was opened on Sept. 1, 1905, the same day that Alberta was declared a province. Since the Alberta Legislature building had not yet been completed, the assembly needed to have a location to meet. The third floor of the school became the space for Alberta’s first Legislative Assembly during its first two terms.
During its 1906 session the following legislation was established: A system for provincial courts; The railways charter; The establishment and incorporation of the University of Alberta; An act to prevent excessive speeds by motorcars, with limits set at 32 km/h; And approval for long-distance telephone lines.
While the province’s future was being decided on the upper floor, the two lower floors were filled to capacity with students sitting in their wooden desks with radiators hissing heat behind them. Daylight poured through the banks of large windows, as electric lighting was not yet a common feature.
Over the years the school became an educational first in many regards, including providing lefthanded desks to accommodate students. Some of the more famous students who attended the school include bush pilot Wilfrid Reid (Wop) May, writer Lotta Dempsey, actor Leslie Nielsen, and Canadian Supreme Court Chief Justice Ron- ald Martland.
However, as all neighbourhoods evolve, so did Edmonton’s downtown core, and with a limited enrolment of 59 students the school would close its doors on June 30, 1983.
Today, McKay Avenue School gives the public a glimpse of what life used to be like in Edmonton’s earliest days, while the third storey includes a reconstructed Legislative Assembly.
Along with the displays on each floor, there are period rooms that can be rented for events.
“It is a living historical experience that combines curriculumbased programs in a preserved historical space,” says Davis.
“We are a free museum and open to the public Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4 p.m.”
Although the McKay Avenue School is part of the Edmonton Public School District, it is not an active school and therefore is not eligible for funding, so it must rely on rental revenue and public donations for its ongoing maintenance. Davis says she’s up to the task.