Matthew Farfan

The Eastern Townships were once dotted with rural schoolhouses. One has only to look at early maps of the area to see that virtually every neighbourhood had one. The typical one-room schoolhouse could be found every mile or two, or at nearly every second crossroad.

Right: Former schoolhouse, Georgeville.
(Photo: Matthew Farfan)

Usually built by the people of the neighbourhood, whose children would be attending class there, these schools were often very simple structures. They were unadorned, purely functional, and built of local materials at hand - usually wood, but occasionally fieldstone or brick. They served their purpose faithfully well into the 1950s in some areas. However, with the advent of a modern centralized educational system and bus transport for children in the countryside, the rural schoolhouse soon became a thing of the past.

Some schools were converted into storage sheds for farm equipment. A few became private dwellings. Many were too isolated or too tiny, so their uses were limited. These fell into disuse and neglect or were simply torn down. Today, however, a surprising number of these little schools remain. Scattered across the Eastern Townships, they are quaint reminders of a simpler time, a time, when we think about it, that is really not so very distant.

To take a virtual tour of this important part of our rural heritage, click here.