Fonds consists of the following series of textual and graphic records: Bylaws and annual reports, n.d., 1887-1971; Minutes, 1868-1971; Registers, 1881-1975; Financial, n.d., 1910-1968; Camp Lewis and Camp Weredale, n.d., 1919-1966; Subject files, n.d., 1892-1971; Publications, n.d., [1933-ca.1970].
The fonds contains photographs of Mrs. Mary Craig, Vernon F. McAdam, and George Brugman; photos by Nakash. The fonds contains photographs related to Weredale House and Weredale Camp, [ca. 1920-1969], and used in the Weredale House publicity publication, "When a fella needs a home", 1970. In addition, there are photographs depicting the construction of Weredale House in 1930, the fire and reconstruction of Camp Weredale in 1965 and images of girls' facilities Girls' Cottage School and at the Sweetsburg Facility and the Mount Bruno Campus. Copyright: Photos O' Neil's; Ted Harrison; David Bier; Photos Unlimited; Henry Koro, expired and unknown.
The fonds also contains architectural drawings for Weredale House, 1927; and a blueprint drawing of an honour roll for World War II veterans from Weredale, 1945.
Weredale House : The Boys' Home of Montreal, later known as Weredale House, was founded in 1870 by Charles Alexander, one of Montreal's leading philanthropists. Mr. Alexander, who came to Canada from Dundee, Scotland, in 1840, made his living as a confectionary manufacturer and dealer. He later entered politics as a Liberal, first as a member of the Montreal City Council and later in the Quebec Legislature. Although the Boys' Home did develop a training home for delinquent boys, its main responsibility was homeless anglophone boys between the ages of nine and eighteen. In 1930 the home moved from its Mountain Street building to the newly constructed Weredale House.
As early as 1899 the idea of a boys' home farm in the Laurentians for the training of delinquent boys was suggested by James R. Dick, the superintendent of the Boys' Home. In 1907 this idea came to fruition and a Boys' Farm and Training School was built at Shawbridge with a separate charter granted in 1917. A boys' camp was sponsored in 1918. First called Camp Boy, the following year it was renamed Camp Lewis in Memory of Major John Lewis, a great friend of the boys in the school, who had been killed in the War.
The Boys' Welfare Association was reorganized to carry on the activities of the camp and to develop boys' clubs. This organization joined forces with the Big Brother movement in the 1930s to form the present Montreal Boys' Association. In 1934 the Rotary Club of Westmount gave 260 acres of land on Lac l'Achigan to Weredale House. Here, Camp Weredale was established to serve as a summer home for the boys and the staff. Weredale House was also one of the agencies of the Welfare Federation of Montreal which in the 1950s provided 50% of its funding. In 1977 Weredale House joined with Summerhill Homes (MG 28 I 388), the Girls' Cottage School (MG 28 I 404) and Allencroft Reception Centres to form Youth Horizons.
