Community Connections/ June 30th, 2021

The O’Hara family was very involved in the Madoc community from its very start. One of the primary concerns of an up and starting community is educating its youth. The O’Hara’s played a vital role in setting up the first school house in the community and continued to be involved in various forms of education.

The O’Hara School, S.S. #2 was located at the corner of Mill Road and O’Hara Road, just east of O’Hara Mill Homestead. This school was the first school in Madoc Township and was run by a local board, who were in charge of preparing a budget and hiring a teacher for the one room school house. Squire James O’Hara was instrumental in the opening of this school and acted as one of the first municipal councillors, a position which he served without pay.

The first school was a frame building, which was built with lumber from the O’Hara Mill. It was replaced in 1884 with a new brick structure which was in use until 1961.

The O’Hara children would have walked to the school and attended it along with the children of the other families settled in the area.

Minnie E. O’Hara (1863-1945)

Minnie was an active member of the Madoc community and lived her life dedicated to educating others. The eldest of two daughters of James O’Hara Jr. and Mary Jane Lear, Minnie never married and lived with her brother Frank for many years. Minnie was very musical and after studying at Albert College she began giving music lessons to children within the Madoc community and continued doing so for much of her life.

To learn more about Minnie, check out our blog post featuring her from last summer: https://www.oharamill.ca/summer-student-blog/minnie-e-ohara-the-woman-behind-the-camera

The O’Hara family played an important and foundational role in the education of the youth of Madoc. This is just one of many ways the O’Hara family played a role in the community! Come back tomorrow to learn more about how the O’Hara family was involved in their local community!