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| Former Foulons School - 1946 |
Foulons School served the largely Irish Catholic population of Cap - Blanc from 1816 to 1884.
In the early 19th century, many working-class Irish Catholics settled around Cap - Blanc. Most worked as longshoreman, shipbuilders, and sailors. By 1861, these English speaking Catholics represented about three-fourths of the neighborhood's population.
To meet the needs of theis growing population, Father Joseph Signay, the Catholic priest of Notre-Dame-de-Quebec, paid to set up a boy's school in the area. The building was destroyed by fire in 1839, and a new building designed by Thomas Baillairge went up in its place.
In 1849, the Brothers of the Christian Schools, who also ran the Clacis School, took over. A chapel was added soon after which eventually became the Irish-Catholic Church Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The school came to be known as the Foulons School or, the Catholic Diamond Harbor School. It offered classed in French and English, but most classes were in English. By the 1880's there were only 4 Francophone children in the school with over 200 English speakers.
By 1884, classes were moved to St. Patrick's School in the Upper Town but the chapel remained until the 1960's.
(c)2016 Linda Sullivan-Simpson
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