The Loyal True Blue and Orange Home, Heritage orphanage in Richmond Hill, Canada
The Loyal True Blue and Orange Home is a Colonial Revival building at Yonge Street and Silverwood Avenue in Richmond Hill, built by William H. Graham in 1901 with a cornerstone laid by H.C. Hocken. Its basement holds a laboratory, two gyms, a music room and three classrooms, and the site now includes two seniors homes built on land sold from the original two-block property.
William H. Graham built the structure in 1901, and H.C. Hocken laid its cornerstone; it opened in 1923 as an orphanage run by the Loyal True Blue Association and the Orange Order for underprivileged or orphaned Protestant children. In 1982 the orphanage closed, the children moved to foster care programmes, and the building was extended and began renting rooms to community organisations.
The name comes from the Loyal True Blue Association and the Orange Order in Canada, the two Protestant bodies that founded the Home for underprivileged or orphaned Protestant children. Children wore specific uniforms so people could identify them as orphans. Since 1997 the Century Montessori School has operated here, named after Maria Montessori's method of student freedom within logical guidelines, funded solely by parents' tuition fees.
The building stands at the corner of Yonge Street and Silverwood Avenue, near the present Richmond Hill High School on Yorkland Street. Century Montessori School moved in in 1994 and its first students arrived in 1997; it is funded solely by parents' tuition fees. St. John Ambulance and The Learning Disabilities Association also operate here, and rooms are rented to community groups.
The Loyal True Blue and Orange Home was founded by the Loyal True Blue Association and the Orange Order in Canada, and its orphans wore specific uniforms so everyone could identify them as orphans. H.C. Hocken laid the cornerstone of the 1901 building. The original property covered two blocks, but parts were sold off and two seniors homes were later built on the land.
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