Educating in old Grantham Township
The Catholic schools of St. Catharines date back to the late 1850s, when Sisters of the Order of St. Joseph were called here to run the first Catholic educational institution in this city — St. Nicholas’ School on Church Street, opened in 1858.
The first Catholic schools — like St. Nicholas’ on Church and later St. Bridget’s on Lyman Street — were established in the central core of the city. The story of Catholic education since then (as is true also with the public school board) has been to follow the population of the everexpanding city outward from the old central city.
In the northeastern quadrant of today’s St. Catharines we see St. John’s School being established out at the corner of Niagara Street and Russell Avenue in 1921, followed by St. Joseph's out on Facer
Street in 1930.
Following the establishment in 1951 of the new St. Alfred’s Parish at the corner of Carlton and Vine, the Catholic authorities were eager to establish, as soon as possible, schools for the children of the burgeoning Catholic population out in northeastern Grantham Township (not part of St. Catharines until amalgamation in 1961).
The early 1950s saw a new wing added to the already existing St. Joseph’s School on Facer Street, significantly increasing its classroom space, and the openings in 1954 of both Canadian Martyrs Catholic Elementary School (on Scott between Grantham and Bunting) and of Our Lady of Fatima elementary school (on Vine north of Scott).
And there were plans for more to come. One publication of St. Alfred's parish at that time included the accompanying photo. Its caption said that it showed a property on Niagara Street opposite Parnell Road, a property that “must be purchased this year in order that building may get under way for the fourth school so urgently required by the parish.”
The photo showed a rural scene out in Grantham Township. In the foreground is Parnell Road, crossed by the rails of the former NS&T (Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto) railway heading out to Port Weller. Beyond the fence on the far side of Parnell we see rows of fruit trees stretching into the distance.
It was not long before St. Alfred’s Parish did obtain that property as the site of the parish’s fourth school -- Assumption Catholic Elementary School, which opened there in 1955. It got off to a modest start with just four classrooms, washrooms, and a small administrative office. Since then there have been three additions to the school, the most recent in 2005. Assumption School now includes 14 classrooms, a resource centre, a gym, a stage, and an administrative centre. Since 2016 it has had a student body ranging from kindergarten to Grade 8, with 172 students on board as of last autumn.