Our History

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Professor William Henry Day

1870 - 1938

After seeing the potential in the soils of the marsh, William Henry Day, professor of physics at the Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph, began work on schemes to make the area productive. His original idea, designed in 1912, was interrupted by World War I, but he would not give up.  In 1923, Professor Day resigned from the college and moved to Bradford.  During subsequent years, he persuaded local councils to complete a drainage system for the marsh area.  The work was finished in 1929 at a cost of $137,000, and it transformed the practically useless bog into the most productive farmland in Canada.  W. H. Day's experimental crops provided the basis for the development of an agricultural area which is now the heartland of the nation's vegetable industry.

A cairn to the memory of W. H. Day, stands in front of the town hall.  It recognizes William Day's foresight and energy as principal factors in the development of the Holland Marsh.

The same persistent spirit which W. H. Day displayed underlies the purpose of the school which bears his name.  The challenge for the staff is to recognize the potential in each of our students, and to use every means available in the development of their skills and knowledge so that they may become fully contributing members of their community and of their country.​

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