Ontario Heritage Trust Shares Must-see Schoolhouse Sites for Families to Explore

At Doors Open Ontario 2016, the whole family can go back to school – and back in time – by exploring historical schoolhouses at free weekend events across the province.

“Doors Open Ontario shows that history is all around us,” says Oksana Kravets of the Ontario Heritage Trust. “This fall, step inside schools from the past and see how learning has evolved. It’s a great way for families to celebrate the new school year and spend quality time together.”

Doors Open Ontario, a province-wide program of the Ontario Heritage Trust, runs until mid-October. Heritage sites across the province open their doors to the public, free of charge, so Ontario residents and visitors can explore these unique and charming sites.

With back to school in mind, the Trust created a list of their must-see schoolhouses during Doors Open Ontario 2016:

Maplewood Hall – North Grenville (September 24)
Maplewood Hall – a former one-room schoolhouse designated under the Heritage Act in 1991 – will have displays of old schoolhouses and provide self-guided village walking tour brochures.

Upper Scotch Line School – Perth (September 24)
Built in 1856, this stone structure served as a schoolhouse in North Burgess Township until 1968. Now owned by the Scotch Line Cemetery, the school contains original wooden desks and other educational memorabilia.

Old Britannia Schoolhouse – Mississauga (October 1)
In 1833, the British Crown granted 200 acres (81 hectares) in Toronto Township for a school. The Old Britannia Schoolhouse (SS 12) was built as a common school in 1852 and closed in 1959. Since its restoration in 1983, the school has served as a living history site for the role-playing of bygone days.

Palermo Schoolhouse – Halton Region (Oakville) (October 1-2)
Palermo had a school as early as 1812, and subsequent schools were built in 1844 and 1875 and rebuilt after storm damage in 1942. The present schoolhouse, used as a school until 1978, was restored by the Trafalgar Township Historical Society, incorporating the cornerstone, floorboards and some windows from the 1875 schoolhouse. It now houses the Trafalgar archives and one-room schoolhouse museum. Note: this site is open on October 1 only.

Wellington Street Public School – St. Thomas (October 15)
This Neil Darrach-designed school was built to replace the Central School. Closed as an elementary school in 2009, the building – with its 19th-century blackboards, cloakrooms and classroom décor – reopened in 2016 as the STEAM Education Centre, where all visitors are inspired to create the future through play, ingenuity and exploration using STEAM learning tools.

For detailed event information and interactive tools to help you plan your Doors Open Ontario experience, visit www.doorsopenontario.on.ca.