The Battle River Hospital was located in Manning, Alberta. When the Peace River Country of northern Alberta was opened for settlement, the Woman's Missionary Society (WMS) of the Presbyterian Church in Canada established a small hospital on the Battle River mid-way between the villages of Notikewin and North Star. It was located 65 miles from the railway in an area inhabited by about 5,000 people most of whom had moved north from dried-out sections of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The hospital was opened in September, 1937 by the WMS of The United Church of Canada with accommodation for 8 patients, and with a nurse’s residence on the second floor. When it opened Dr. Doidge was the doctor, Miss, M.E. McMurray the matron, and Miss Frances M. Clarkson the staff nurse. Changes in staff were frequent, because of the loneliness of the situation of the hospital. Before long additions were made, the hospital was enlarged to accommodate 17 patients; a new nurses residence was opened in 1946 and a doctor’s residence in 1948. At first the address of the hospital was Grmishaw, the railway station 65 miles away, but as the railway was extended north and roads opened a town grew up in the hospital area. This town was named Manning after the premier of Alberta. With the growth of the town the area could no longer be considered a pioneer community. The municipality became interested in operating its own hospital, so after considerable negotiation the WMS sold the Battle River hospital to the town in 1954.
Edmonton Residential School was located near the town of St. Albert, approximately 16 kilometres northwest of downtown Edmonton, Alberta. The school was opened in 1924 by the Woman's Missionary Society of The Methodist Church of Canada, with some funding by the Department of Indian Affairs. In 1925 operation was transferred to The United Church of Canada who managed it until its closure in 1966.
George McDougall Hospital was originally located on the North Bank of the North Saskatchewan River at Victoria (later named Pakan). It opened in 1907 under the management of the Mission Board of the Methodist Church of Canada, and Dr. Charles Lawford. The hospital moved to Smoky Lake in 1922 when the railroad was built. After 1925, it was operated by the Board of Home Missions of The United Church of Canada. In July, 1957 the Hospital District purchased the land and building, with the Board of Home Missions maintaining control over operations.
Goodfish Lake Day School was located at Goodfish Lake in Alberta. It was operated by the Missionary Society of The Methodist Church of Canada, and after 1925 The United Church of Canada. According to Department of Indian Affairs records, a school was built in 1884, and opened in 1885. As of 1898, classes were being held in a nearby home as it was halfway between the school at Goodfish Lake, and the one at nearby Whitefish Lake. Records also indicate that there was a small boarding house for these students, supported by the Methodists. In 1908 Church and Department officials discussed opening a boarding school at Saddle Lake and closing the day schools at Whitefish, Goodfish and Saddle Lakes though it does not appear that it was built. Although the Whitefish Lake school was closed around 1910 and students sent to nearby Red Deer Industrial School, the school at Goodfish Lake stayed open until June, 1925. Little is known about the Goodfish Lake Day School after this time. In November of 1959, the Edmonton Journal reported on a “New Reserve School” called "Pakan Protestant School" at Goodfish, 30 miles west of St. Paul. Correspondence from 1966 noted that the Pakan School, otherwise known as the United Church school may have had a kindergarten class. Further research is required to confirm the closure dates, more information about the operation and general history of the school(s).
John Neil Hospital was located in Cold Lake, Alberta. Woman's Missionary Society (WMS) medical work was first begun by the Presbyterian Church in Canada in 1921, when a building was rented for hospital use and church services. In 1925 the medical work at Cold Lake became the responsibility of the WMS of The United Church of Canada. John Neil Hospital was opened in July 1926 through church and community funding by the WMS. It was a 10-bed hospital and named after a former minister of Westminster-Central Church in Toronto which donated much of the funds for the building. A new, larger hospital was opened on July 8, 1958.
The Katherine H. Prittie Hospital (also known as Bonnyville General Hospital) was located in Bonnyville, Alberta. The hospital was initially held in the farm house of Rev. Dr. John E. Duclos with support of The Woman's Missionary Society of The Presbyterian Church in Canada in 1917. In 1925 a new building was erected by The Woman's Missionary Society (WMS) of The United Church of Canada, with accommodation for 15 patients. This was named the Katherine H. Prittie Hospital, and was opened in July, 1926. At first the WMS retained a doctor who lived 34 miles away, but this did not prove very satisfactory, so in 1929 Dr. H.L.P. Grafton was appointed to Bonnyville. The hospital burned in August, 1934, and was rebuilt in 1935, In the following years many changes took place in the community. The Roman Catholic Church built a larger hospital, schools were opened, and a railway was built to Bonnyville. In 1947 the Alberta Health Department began organizing the province into Municipal Hospital Districts. The future of the hospital became uncertain. The work of the Woman's Missionary Society merged with the Board of Home Mission of the United Church in 1961 and administration of the hospital eventually was passed to the Duclos Hospital Society. The hospital is still in operation today.
Morley Day School was located on the Morley Reserve (now Stoney Reserve), Alberta. It was operated by the Methodist Society of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Canada, after 1874 The Methodist Church of Canada and after 1925 The United Church of Canada. Department of Indian Affairs records indicate that in 1875 a school at "Morleyville (Bow River)" was operated and funded by the Wesleyan Methodist Society with 40 children enrolled. In 1880, the Indian agent noted that the “Bear’s Paw” [Bearspaw] and “Jacob” bands were on the north side of Bow River, while the “Chinique” [Chiniki] band was on the south side. By 1881, a “Parliamentary Appropriation” was granted to the day school. An 1881 Department report from the Stoney Reserve shows that the school had 20 girls and 23 boys. As the river divided the bands, children from the Bearspaw and Chiniki bands could not attend the school during summer. The missionary, Mr. McDougall, recommended that a separate schoolhouse be built for these bands. Children from the McDougall Orphanage also attended the day school at the mission. By 1886, a new day school was open on the south side of the Bow River, in the house of Chief Chiniquay. The second day school at South Camp was taught by Reverend E. R. Steinhauer, a missionary of The Methodist Church. By 1888, a new school building was under construction. Soon after, this day school would be referred to as “No. 2” while the school near the mission was called “No. 1.” As of 1896 almost 100 school-age children were registered at three schools, with the residential school, generally referred to as the “Orphanage,” having its own teacher. Despite discussions about possibly closing the two schools on the reserve, in 1897 the No. 1 Day School was renovated and repaired, and a new porch built. By 1899, most children on the reserve were sent to the McDougall Orphanage for classes and the two day schools were closed due to poor attendance. In January of 1902, the No. 1 Day School was reopened for children who could not attend the Orphanage. An inspection the following year referred to the school as “Morley, No. 1 (Bearspaw) Day School,” under The Methodist Church. After being closed for almost four years, in response to the closure of the McDougall Orphanage, in January 1909 a day school was opened on “Wesley’s band land” on the north side of the Bow River. By 1911, attendance was falling and it appears that the school was closed again for almost eight years, before reopening in 1920. During the 1920s and 30s, the school was open intermittently but attendance continued to decline. A Missionary Society publication noted that during 1924-1925 there were 34 Day pupils at the Morley Boarding School. By at least 1954, around 50-60 Day pupils attended classes at the Morley Residential School. Classes at the Morley RS contained a mix of day and residential pupils, with five teachers teaching Grades 1-8. Space in the United Church building was also rented for children in Grade 1. As some of the teachers were now hired and paid by the Department. By 1957, records show that a new, large four-room day school with an auditorium was operating on the reserve. The school was to be named “David Bearspaw Day School,” as requested by the Indian Council, and would be attended by both day and residential students. A Church-produced “Report on the Indian Work for 1960” indicated that policy was shifting to the integration of Indigenous children into public school systems at both the elementary and high school levels, which included bussing children to outside communities. The report also noted that Morley had about 180 children attending the day school in eight classrooms up to Grade 8. It was hoped that eventually the educational system at Morley would be entirely day school based. By 1963, the school had expanded to 10 teachers and 10 classrooms, with only a handful of children still living in residence. Correspondence from 1966 shows the day school consisted of three separate blocks: A “Senior School” as well as two “Junior Schools”. In 1968, the Morley Reserve was described as situated on the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, 30 miles west of Calgary and 30 miles east of Banff. By this time, the “Morley School” taught children from Kindergarten to Grade 7, while those in Grade 8 and higher attended schools off the reserve in the communities of Exshaw, Canmore, Springband and Calgary. Additional research is needed to determine when the day school closed, its general history and operation.
The McDougall Orphanage was located in the Morleyville Settlement, on the north side of the Bow River, just east of the Stoney First Nation Reserve and approximately 64 kilometres west of Calgary, Alberta and the Morley Residential School was located on the Stoney First Nation Reserve on the south side of the Bow River, near Morley. The McDougall Orphanage and Training School was an orphanage and day school operated by the Woman's Missionary Society of The Methodist Church of Canada with funding from the Department of Indian Affairs from 1883-1908, with school buildings on the north and south sides of the Bow River. The school briefly reopened in 1909, and closed again in 1910. In 1922 a temporary semi-residential school was set up by The Methodist Church, with government support until funds could be found for a permanent school. In 1926, the Morley Residential School, with a new residence was opened and operated by The United Church of Canada until its closure in 1969.
Red Deer Industrial Institute was located five kilometres west of Red Deer, Alberta, on 1120 acres on the banks of the Red Deer River. It was built by the Department of Indian Affairs, and operated from 1893-1919 by the Missionary Society of The Methodist Church of Canada.
Saddle Lake Day School was located on Saddle Lake 125, Alberta. It was operated by The Methodist Church of Canada and after 1925, The United Church of Canada. Department of Indian Affairs records indicate that in 1887 The Methodist Church purchased former Anglican mission buildings at Saddle Lake with plans to move them to the western boundary of the reserve and immediately open a day school for the Saddle Lake (Thomas Hunter’s) and Blue Quill Bands. The school was funded by a Department grant, and opened in January 1888. It closed due to low attendance during the 1904-1905 school year. In 1908, 10 acres were set aside north of Saddle Lake for a new church, parsonage and schoolhouse but it is unclear whether a new school was constructed. Although the inspector’s report from 1909 reported that the school building at Saddle Lake was unfit for use, the Department did not wish to build a new schoolhouse as they were uncertain of where the band would permanently locate. Consequently, classes were held in the old mission building. By 1911, the kitchen of the old mission building was being used as a classroom even though it was poorly furnished and unsuitable. It is unclear what became of the old schoolhouse owned by the Department. In 1916, the agent reported that “an Indian house is now being used as a school building,” but due to poor attendance little progress was made. Little is known about the school after 1925. By the 1960s, children at Saddle Lake were integrated into public schools. Additional research is needed obtain more information about the school and to determine when it closed.