Sprung Court 

Whitfield Lyman Sprung

Sprung Court is named for Whitfield Lyman Sprung, principal from 1927 to 1940 of Stratford Collegiate and Vocational Institute (SCVI) and now Stratford Intermediate School, at 60 St. Andrew St. 

Sprung succeeded Cam Mayberry (see Mayberry Place), the second principal of SCVI,  who had been principal for 40 years and Charles McGregor, the First Headmaster whose appointment dated from January 1855.  The first headmaster taught in a room at the Old County Court House which stood on the hill just northeast of St. James Church. 

Sprung was born in 1875 near Brighton, Ont., and entered teaching immediately upon graduating from secondary school school there. After five years, he enrolled at the University of Toronto, where he majored in mathematics and science, and graduated in 1903. He taught two years at Forest secondary school and then was principal at the secondary school in Lucan. In 1906, he qualified as a public school inspector. In the same year, he married Jessie Thorne Macaulay (1878-1954). She had been born in Hilton, about seven kilometres north of Brighton. They had three children: Lyall, Elizabeth and Reginald. 

In 1908, the Sprungs moved to Stratford, where W. L. taught mathematics at the collegiate.

In 1913, he presented a paper, titled Mathematics for Teachers, at the Ontario Association for Teachers. 

Sprung made an impact on students. He was often successful at having 100 per cent of his class pass the provincial exams. In one year his students took both first and second places in scholarship mathematics for the entire province.

Sprung served as president of the Stratford Teachers' Association and the Perth County Teachers' Association, as well as chairman of the mathematics and physics section of the Ontario Educational Association and of that organization's college and secondary section. 

In 1926-27, he was the fourth president of the Rotary Club of Stratford. He was an active member of Tecumseh Lodge, A. F. and A. M. It was also in 1927 that he began his 14-year run as principal at the SCVI.

He died in Stratford in 1950. Source: Streets of Stratford 2004