John J. Wright
Reverend John Wright was a minister in the Presbyterian Church in Whitehorse. The Board of Trade had identified the need for a school at their first meeting in May 1900. In February 1901, Wright opened a school for about sixteen children, ages five to fourteen, in the reading room of his church on the south side of Main Street near Second Avenue. At the same time, the Board of Trade send a petition to the Commissioner asking for a public school offering the same services as Dawson. There were forty-one children of school age in Whitehorse at the time. Commissioner Ogilvie informed Robert Lowe, president of the Board of Trade, that a grant was available for school purposes and an order could be placed for supplies. In early June, Wright informed the Dawson authorities that a three-member school committee had been formed with himself as president, and it had equipped the school and hired a teacher on a month to month basis. Classes had been in progress since early May, still meeting at the Presbyterian Church. The school ran for a full year, operating through the summer to catch up on the school year. Late in the summer of 1902, a contract was let for the construction of a two-room school on Lambert Street.1)