Fire at Hochelaga School

On February 26, 1907, fire broke out in the Hochelaga School on Prefontaine street. Sixteen young children perished in the fire, along with the school principal, Sarah Maxwell, who lost her life attempting to rescue many of the children. Names of the children are listed below.


The fire apparently broke out just before 2 p.m. and by 3 p.m. the bravery of some had resulted in most of the children being saved but tragically 16 children and their beloved principal Miss Sarah Maxwell - perished - leaving Montreal just reeling from shock.

It was  a 4 story building and the older children were on the bottom floors & the younger children were on the upper floors. The newspaper gives conflicting renditions... but it seems that there was smoke and that wasn't unusual as they had a faulty furnace. By the time anyone realized the danger, it was too late to get the children out.. as the stairwells were full of thick smoke. Miss Maxwell and the teachers herded the children back to the safety (?) of the upper room. 

Meanwhile there was an ice house almost directly across the street and the workers there saw the flames and ran to fire ladders - to reach the upper windows. Not enough ladders were found...but of the ones that were, the men were able to save many children, thanks to the fact that Miss Maxwell and the teachers..were lifting the children (6-8yrs olds) out the windows to the men. 

Though relatively young, this was an enormous feat on the part of these women as the children must have been heavy . One story says the fire dept only saved 2 children.. (didn't get there in time) and almost saved Miss Maxwell..but an explosion prevented that. Another story says Miss Maxwell just collapsed from fatigue. At least 50 children were saved.  -- 

The confusion that followed was "unreal" - as desperate parents arrived on the scene searching for their loved ones. Many had been taken to homes nearby and the bodies had been taken to the morgue. The newspaper had full coverage of the anguish (and in some cases relief) of the parents who feared the worst and later found their children alive. The inconsolation  of the parents who lost children is difficult to read.

Then followed a campaign (seems to have been the brainchild of the Montreal Star - but I've only looked at that newspaper.) They  asked children to send in their donations for a fitting "memorial" to Miss Maxwell.  I've found 13 "installments" so far and this certainly will interest all of you who had family in Montreal at the time... but I can't possibly type up all these names. The idea was (and here's where we come in) to help future Montrealers know the bravery of this one lady by making a "memorial" to her memory that no one could forget." 

Maxwell, Sarah school principal 
aged 31 (lived 479A St Urbain St with her mother)  

Anderson, James Frederick aged 6½ 
94 St Germain St 
only child of JF Anderson
 
Andrew, Annie Jackson aged 8  
dau/ Henry Jackson Andrew 
63 Cuvillier St  

Davey, Edna aged 5½ yrs,  
14 Marlborough St  
dau/ John Davey
 

Forbes, Cecilia aged 6  
59 Cuvillier St  
dau/ Thomas Forbes
 
Golson, Edith aged 6 yrs & 8 months  
311 Stradacona St,  
dau/o John Golson  

Hingston, Gladys aged 6 
dau/ Wm Hingston  
57a Rouville St
 

Jackson, Albert Edward aged 6  
of 22 Wurtele St  
son of John H Jackson
 
Johnson, Joseph aged 7 
424 Cuvillier St  
younger s/o Thomas Johnson  

Lampton, Ethel aged 5½ yrs 
dau/ George Lambton
 

Lindley, James Pilkington aged 6  
119 Alwin St, identified by father James Pilkington Lindley
 
Lomas, John aged 6  
s/o George Lomas 
111 Davidson St.
 
McPherson, James aged 7  
333 Prefontaine St. 
son/ James McPherson (nb: the school was on Prefontaine St)
 
Rich, Lillian aged 5  
28 Marlborough St.  
dau/ Harrison Rich 
identified by Thomas Williams
 
Spraggs, Mabel aged 3 
dau/o A Spragge, builder,  
1726 St Catherine St East

Spraggs, Myrtle aged 8 
dau/o A Spragge, builder,  
1726 St Catherine St East

Zimmerman, Wm John aged 7  
only child of W Zimmerman of 411 Alwin St
 - identified by father  



- courtesy Pennie Redmile

Montreal Southern Counties Railway line: Canada‘s first commuter electric trolley line

 

Prior to the construction of bridges to the South Shore, it was difficult, and at times, impossible to cross the St. Lawrence. During the summer, people had to travel by boat. One would cross over to Longueuil often by passenger Shull rowing boats. From there, one could board passenger trains to the United States or take stagecoaches to other locations. The same would be true for the shipping of trade goods on and off the island of Montreal. During the winter months ...travelers and goods would wait until the river froze over before crossing on well marked paths across the ice. Those who wondered off these paths risked plugging through thin ice and a cold death.

 

The South Shore of pre-Victoria Bridge had few inhabitants who mostly lived in small villages along the river. Opened in 1859, the 1.9 mile long Great Victoria bridge was the first to span the St Lawrence River, and was first used only for train traffic.

Passenger lanes opened following renovations in 1897 and were rededicated as the Victoria Jubilee Bridge. This would easier access route change both the industrial and social migration direction as the South Shore became the first off-island suburbs
Montreal residents often escaped the summer heat by taking a day trip to the countryside, or owning a weekend cottage, on the South Shore of the river. When land on the island of Montreal began to get more expensive and further away, developers started looking off the island for cheap farmland and building a tramway link into the industrial heart of the city. With Montreal's industrial heart now based along the Lachine Canal and the Glenn Yards, it was an easy leap for workers to begin looking to move to the South Shore.

South Shore tramway development began with the newly formed Montreal Southern Counties Railway line. MSCR was Canada‘s first commuter electric trolley line would allow easy access into the city for work, and a means of returning home to the calm and cleaner air of the country in the evening.

 

A little train line that would open up the South Shore
Owned by then Grand Trunk Railway and later the Canadian National Railway, Construction of the M&SC began in 1906 with completed sections being opened for regular passenger service as follows: between Montreal and St-Lambert commencing on November 1, 1909; extending to Montreal South (Longueuil) on May 30, 1910; Greenfield Park and MacKayville on November 1, 1912; Richelieu on June 28, 1913; Marieville on September 28, 1913; St. Cesaire on May 3, 1914; By 1916, the M&SCR would be able to take passengers as far as Chambly and later reach into Granby.

The tramway would run from D'Youville Square at the bottom of McGill College Street in Old Montreal across the Victoria Bridge over into Saint-Lambert. From the switching station in Saint Lambert, one could board a trolley train to either Montreal South or get a connection to as far away as Granby.

The early residents were first generation Canadians often from Great Britain who had located in Pointe-St. Charles to work in the Glenn rail yards or in the many factories and plants that lined the Lachine Canal. Many were higher paid trades’ people who had learned they could purchase cheap land in the countryside far away from the smoky industries of "the Point" and still be able to commute to their jobs in less then an hour. The South Shore with its promise of home ownership became an attractive destination.
The better off folk took root in the towns of Saint-Lambert and Montreal South which were closest to the city. Further down the rail line, Greenfield Park and MacKay Ville became home to the trades- people who were mostly British immigrants from the Midlands. They brought with them their passion for gardening. By the 1930s, a majority of the population of the communities of Saint-Lambert, Montreal South, Greenfield Park, MacKay Ville, Croydon, East Greenfield, Brookline and Pinehurst were English-speaking.

 

During the warm summer afternoon Montreal day trippers would take the MSCR out to spend the afternoon playing baseball in the fields , swimming in the creaks that surrounded Saint Hubert and in those days the GREENFIELDS of Greenfield Park.

The typical trolley cars used by the M&SCR during its fifty-year run were purchased second -hand (even third) and were already well past their prime… Early passengers had few comforts, however later trains featured toilets and the every so often working heaters for those winter commutes. M&SCR – was nicked named the Montreal & Suffering Counties Railway ...

However despite their discomfort the MSCR would serve as the main public transit system for almost fifty years ... With trains serving as the centre point for a dozen small communities. By the 1950’s with more private cars and better access to the Jacque Cartier and Victoria bridges passage use was dropping off. By 1955 CNR who now owned the Victoria Bridge announced plans for improved two way lanes for automobiles and would no longer allow the MSCR to use the tracks along the Bridge .. This was the final nail in the coffin for the little train line that brought so much to Montreal’s South Shore. So on October 10,1956 the Montreal and Southern Counties trolley line would have its last run.

 

Chicago Cubs Win The World Series!

©2016 Linda Sullivan-Simpson
The Past Whispers
All Rights Reserved

Point-St-Charles gala raises $500,000 for local youth

 

When Kevin Figsby packed his bags to leave Point-St-Charles, he began a journey most children from the working class enclave would never know.

“The Point” had always been a hardscrabble place but by the late 1970s — after massive layoffs at the Northern Electric factory and Redpath sugar refinery — it had become one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Canada. The Irish neighbourhood was notorious for its association with the West End Gang, known more for producing brawlers, boxers and tough-as-nails rail workers than scholars.

So it was a rare thing for someone like Figsby, in 1979, to leave town and attend Bishop’s University in Lennoxville. But when that did happen, the community rallied around Figsby and another young man from The Point.

“The parish priest, Father Willard, gave us both $150 and he said: ‘Here, here’s something to help you on that road,’ ” said Figsby, now the director of Hockey Program Delivery at Hockey Canada. “I said to him: ‘How can I repay that?’ And he said: ‘If you ever get the chance to help another kid, do it.’ ”

After helping raise more than $500,000 in scholarships and programs for children Point-St-Charles youth, it’d be fair to say Figsby held up his end of the bargain.

On Saturday, Figsby joined about 500 people at the Point-St-Charles YMCA for the 13th annual Hall of Recognition ceremony, which honours notable locals and awards scholarships to about 20 youth who live in the area.

The ceremony began, almost by chance, when Figsby heard about plans to close The Point’s YMCA in 2003. After meeting with the YMCA’s director, Figsby devised a way to help save the social programs it promoted while honouring the people who organized youth sports when he was a boy in the south Montreal neighbourhood. More…

 

©2016 Linda Sullivan-Simpson
The Past Whispers
All Rights Reserved

 

 

 

The Grand Trunk’s Industrial Complex

 

In 1856, the Grand Trunk Railway opened a big complex of shops in Montreal to build and repair trains and locomotives. It was located in Point St. Charles, not far from the Victoria Bridge's construction site. An area of this industrial complex was intended to the work on the cars and coaches (metal and wood), while another area was intended to the work on locomotives (metal only).

Engineering Dept. Staff - 1896

By 1961, the Grand Trunk was the main employer in Montreal in regards to manufacturing jobs. In order to provide accommodation to all these workers, a series of houses, called "Sebastopol Row", were built in 1857.

There were a lot of different buildings at the Grand Trunk's industrial complex: foundries, factories, shops for construction and maintenance, a warehouse, etc. There was also a station for the train passengers. At the beginning of the 20th century, the company's headquarters moved to Downtown Montreal, but the shops remained in Point St. Charles.

In 1912, the Grand Trunk's President, Charles Hays, died in the sinking of the Titanic. It was a big loss for the company, which encountered financial problems and went bankrupt in 1919. The decision was made to merge with their rival, the Canadian Northern Railway, which was also in bankruptcy, and a new Crown corporation was founded in 1919, he Canadian National.

The CN managed the industrial complex over the 20th century, and then rented it to ALSTOM in the 1990s. The site served again for construction and maintenance of locomotives and other vehicles. Today, the site is still owned by the CN but is not in use anymore.

Source: http://www.memorablemontreal.com/print/batiments_menu.php?quartier=14&batiment=267 http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/collection/artifacts/M990X.371.1.2

 

©2016 Linda Sullivan-Simpson
The Past Whispers
All Rights Reserved