The Spanish Residential School fonds contains records that pertain to the establishment, administration, operations, and eventual closing of the Spanish Residential School. It also contains records that pertain to the day school in Wiikwemkoong, which preceded the Spanish school. The schools were administered by the Jesuit fathers of the Upper Canada Province, initially named Independent Mission of Canada (1887-1907), Province of Canada (1907-1924), then Vice-Province of Upper Canada (1924-1939).
The fonds is organized into five series: Administration and Financial Records; Student Affairs and Community Life; Spanish Residential School Buildings; Jesuit Personnel and School Staff; Spanish Residential School Photography Laboratory. It contains correspondence, diaries, newspaper clippings, financial statements, student registers, and student publications. The fonds also contains photographs associated with the schools’ cultural and sports programs, including hockey and football, photographs of the schools’ buildings and Jesuit personnel, and photographs of the Spanish community. Notably, the fonds also contains photographs produced by the students themselves in the school’s photo laboratory, established by Fr. William P. Maurice, S.J.
Spanish Residential School