[1] With the economic boom of St. Thomas in the late 19th century, Bishop Albert Carmen proposed that a ladies' college be established.

[6] The school's traditional colors were chosen based on each of these subjects: blue (literature), gold (art), and crimson (music).

[4] Alma College's grounds featured a main building, a chapel, a hall cum gymnasium, and a unique outdoor amphitheater.

[10] In 1975 a portion of the residence was opened as a satellite seniors home for a local long term care facility.

[1] The strike lasted just over 3 months with the OLRB ruling that the Alma Board was guilty of unfair labor practices.

[10] Alma College changed ownership several times after failed attempts to convert the grounds into a retirement home, a co-ed high school, or an otherwise general restoration of the buildings.

The Mayors office was swamped with calls proving Brian Squires was right in saying the people of St.Thomas will care and they also want the building saved.

This report would subsequently be buried by the ministry of culture only to reappear under the freedom of information act two years later and after the buildings eventual demise.

[14] the city denied the demolition permit and the building was placed on the National top ten endangered historic sites in Canada.

This new bylaw was protested and ruled to be too specific in wording and was overturned by the Ontario Supreme Court[citation needed].

The fire took place shortly after the Ontario Municipal Board issued a final order that approved its demolition.

[15] Just prior to the time of the fire local residents met with officials of Premier Dalton McGuinty's office in hopes of postponing an eventual demolition.

Local response was swift to place blame on Ontario minister of Culture, Aileen Carroll at the time for not working hard enough to protect the building from demolition.

The report outlined that the ministry should ensure that should Alma fall under the threat of demolition or alteration that would compromise the heritage character, integrity and attributes of the property, that it would be appropriate for the minister to designate Alma College, using the powers prescribed under the Ontario heritage Act, to protect the building.

[19] An investigation by the St Thomas city fire department found the blaze, which began in the building's rear stairwell, was the result of arson.

[13] After the fire the remaining shell of the main building was torn down due to safety considerations by the municipal government of the city of St Thomas.

In a ruling on September 24, 2009, the two boys were found guilty of arson and sentenced to 240 hours of community service and 2 years parole.

[23] After the fire a short speech was given at the Ontario legislature by speaker Steve Peters in memory of the building and loss to the culture of his home.

This was complemented by storage space being granted at the local community city hall by then mayor and past archivist, Steve Peters.

In 2002 The alumnae decided to move the archives to a more permanent home at The Elgin County Museum, located just outside St Thomas.

To date a description of the records can be found on the web, as well as a collection of photographs of the school in its early years at the Museum's website.

After significant portions of building were gutted the interior became an ideal set for the horror film Silent Hill.

Even after its destruction, photographs and its likeness were included in the 2009 film Orphan, portraying it as a mental hospital named the Saarne Institute which is located in Estonia.