St. John's Residential School (Chapleau, Ont.) collection

The St. John's Indian Residential School operated in Chapleau, Ontario from 1907-1948. The original residential school in Chapleau was operated by the Anglican Diocese of Moosonee from 1907 to 1920. In 1920 the school's administration was taken over by the Department of Indian Affairs. The school was built to accommodate 40 students, and in 1919 it was expanded to accommodate 45 students. The residential school was located on 153 acres on the east side of Chapleau near the Nebskwashi River. This original school building burned down on June 27, 1926. The original Residential School site in Chapleau was never developed and is now part of the forest.

In 1914 a new location of 1,184 acres was bought from the Ontario government for one dollar an acre. However, the new location was far from the town of Chapleau and did not have convenient road access. In 1920 a new 2,142 acre site, closer to town, was purchased.The new two-storey school building designed to accommodate 100 students was built at a cost of $89,000. The school operated at capacity until it closed on July 1, 1948. Many students were transferred to the Shingwauk Indian Residential School or the Moose Factory Indian Residential School. The school property was purchased by Nick Gionet for $7,000 in 1948 and eventually all of the school buildings were demolished, this site is now a small residential subdivision.