Stratford in Perth County, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)
Stratford Normal School
⎯⎯⎯
L’École Normale de Stratford
1908
Photographed by Tim Boyd, July 18, 2025
1. Stratford Normal School Marker
In the 1900s, concerns about the quality of rural education prompted the Ontario government to build four new Normal Schools to increase the supply of qualified teachers in the province. Identical Italian Renaissance buildings were constructed in North Bay, Peterborough, Hamilton, and Stratford. The Stratford Normal School attracted women and men from surrounding districts and educated them with an emphasis on conditions in the rural schools that employed most new teachers. Known as the Stratford Teachers College from 1953 on, the school trained close to 14,000 teachers before closing in 1973. It is the only one of the four Normal Schools opened in 1908-09 to survive without substantial alteration.
Au début du XX siècle, le gouvernement ontarien, soucieux de la qualité de l'éducation dans les campagnes, fait construire quatre écoles normales pour former dayantage d'instituteurs qualifiés. C'est ainsi que l'on voit s'élever à North Bay Peterborough, Hamilton et Stratford des bâtiments identiques, de style renaissance italienne, L'École normale de Stratford attire des hommes et des femmes des districts environnants, qui y reçoivent une formation adaptée aux exigences du milieu rural où vont enseigner la plupart des nouveaux diplômés. Rebaptisée Stratford Teachers College en 1953, cette école a formé près de 14 000 mstituteurs ayant sa fermeture en 1973. C'est la seule des quatre écoles normales inaugurées entre 1908 et 1909 qui ait survécu sans grandes modifications.
Erected by Ontario
this page online
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Education. In addition, it is included in the Canada, Ontario Heritage Trust series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1908.
Location. 43° 22.374′ N, 80° 58.157′ W. Marker is in Stratford, Ontario, in Perth County. It is at the intersection of Water Street and Queen Street on Water Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 270 Water Street, Stratford ON N5A 3C8, Canada. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Huron-Perth-Waterloo-Wellington Area and in Southwestern Ontario. It is also in Central Canada. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony, the Viceroyalty of New France, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, and Rupert’s Land.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Keith A. Culliton Dome (within shouting distance of this marker); The Stratford Festival / Le festival de Stratford
Photographed by Tim Boyd, July 18, 2025
2. Stratford Normal School / L’École Normale de Stratford Marker
Regarding Stratford Normal School / L’École Normale de Stratford. The building is currently used as the Education Department of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival
Photographed by Tim Boyd, July 18, 2025
3. Stratford Normal School / L’École Normale de Stratford Marker
Photographed by Tim Boyd, July 18, 2025
4. Former Stratford Normal School
The marker is at the bottom left of the photo
Credits. This page was last revised on July 20, 2025. It was originally submitted on July 20, 2025, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. This page has been viewed 98 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 20, 2025, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
