Celebrating Richmond’s Schools
14 September 2006
Did you know prior to 1906, any Richmond student wishing to continue on to high school had to travel across the river either to Marpole in South Vancouver, Ladner, or New Westminster in order to complete a graduation diploma?
This is only one of many interesting facts found in a new virtual exhibit on the City of Richmond Archives web page. The exhibit can be located by navigating to the City Hall section. Then use the menu on the left and select City Archives. Hover over the Virtual Exhibits link to display the available exhibits or by clicking the following to link, which takes you directly into the "Richmond Schools" virtual exhibit.
The informative exhibit is adapted from the book, "Richmond Schools – What’s In A Name? 125 Years of Change and Expansion", written by Jon Henderson, a Friends of the Richmond Archives volunteer. This exhibit traces the expansion of the Richmond school system over the last 125 years, paying special attention to how and why each school was named.
The exhibit provides information about periods of growth and development within the Richmond school system and in the community itself, with photographs and text on more than 65 of Richmond’s schools, past and present. Visitors to the online exhibit will find, not only the history of Richmond’s schools, but also an abbreviated history of the community itself.
Funding was provided by the Friends of the Richmond Archives. Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, this volunteer organization supports the City of Richmond Archives by promoting the use of its resources, and encouraging the involvement of people interested in preserving Richmond’s documentary past.
Since 1998, the Friends have published several books to illustrate Richmond’s distinguished history by using documents and photographs held by the City of Richmond Archives. Jon Henderson’s book, Richmond Schools – What’s In A Name?, has been a popular seller. And with the presence of this new virtual exhibit; information about Richmond’s schools and future Friends of the Richmond Archives exhibits will be available to a wide audience.
The Archives section of our website contains a List of Publications, which can be used as references.
