In response to a petition from a provisional Board of Management appointed in 1876, the Ontario Government granted a charter the following year for the erection of a ladies' college in St. Thomas. In this building, designed in the High Victorian Gothic style by James Balfour of Hamilton, Alma College was opened in October 1881. The establishment of the College resulted largely from the contributions of residents of St. Thomas and Elgin County and the efforts of Bishop Albert Carman, D.D., Bishop of the Niagara and London Diocese of the Methodist Episcopal Church. From its inception, the school offered matriculation for university entrance and succeeded in providing liberal instruction to young ladies "to make their lives useful and happy and their tastes elevated and refined."

Location

At the former college, Moore and McIntyre Streets, St. Thomas

Themes

• Buildings and structures
• Education
• Women's history