Wesleyan Young Ladies’ College

The Dundas Female College (as it was sometimes called) commenced operation in April 1858 in a brick building which had been built on in 1836 on the northeast corner of Hatt and Ogilvie Streets.

The College was fostered by the Wesleyan Methodists of Canada, who appointed Rev. R. McGonegal as Principal, B. Prosper as Assistant, Miss A.M. Adams as Preceptress, Miss A.M. Parker as music teacher, and Miss S.M. Wood as teacher of painting and drawing. The school was incorporated in 1859 and forty students boarded at the school, coming from areas surrounding Dundas as well as the town itself. In 1860, tuition and board for a senior class member was $35.

In 1861, a similar college was founded in Hamilton which left the Dundas College struggling. In 1866, the decision was made to combine the schools, and the Dundas location was closed.

– from the writings of T. Roy Woodhouse