Description of Historic Place

Quincy School is a Municipal Heritage Property occupying .67 ha of land in the Rural Municipality of Baildon No. 131, approximately 25 km south of the City of Moose Jaw. The property features an extensively renovated one-room, wood-frame schoolhouse constructed in 1929, situated on a grassy parcel of land surrounded by cultivated fields.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of Quincy School lies in its long association with community life in the Quincy district. For many years, Quincy School served the educational needs of the local farming community. The current school building, erected in 1929, replaced the original school that had stood on the same site since 1910. The second schoolhouse operated until 1941, when declining enrolments forced it to close.

Quincy School was also the community’s place of worship. In the early years, different denominations took turns using the school for their services. After the 1925 union of Methodists, Presbyterians and Congregationalists, the schoolhouse became the regular meeting place for the local United Church of Canada congregation. The congregation’s youth groups, Sunday Schools and Vacation Schools also made use of the schoolhouse and grounds. Church services continued after the school closed, finally ending in 1973, when the congregation disbanded due to low membership.

As in most rural communities in Saskatchewan, the school also played an indispensable role as a place for socializing and fellowship. Throughout its history, the people of the surrounding area met at the school to enjoy such activities as picnics, ball games, dances, teas and suppers. First of July picnics and Christmas concerts are among the most fondly remembered occasions.

The school is also remembered for its close association with the Quincy Church Ladies Aid, which raised money for church expenses, sponsored and catered events, and helped with the upkeep of the building. The organization purchased the property in 1961. When church services ceased in 1973, the members reorganized as the Quincy Ladies Club and continued to operate the school as a community centre.

To improve the building as a meeting hall, the Quincy Community Club (the successor organization to the Quincy Ladies Club) enlarged the building and placed it on a new foundation in the early 1980s. A metal roof and stucco siding were also added. Although use of the building declined in subsequent years, local residents remain committed to the preservation of the school as a valued landmark and symbol of community heritage, and in anticipation of it one day resuming its traditional role as a community gathering place.

Source:

Rural Municipality of Baildon No. 131 Bylaw No. 2/83.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of Quincy School resides in the following character-defining elements:
-elements that express the school’s long-standing connection to the community and its role as a gathering place, including the building’s location on its original parcel of land; the open grounds around the schoolhouse; the schoolhouse’s simplicity of form; and its interior meeting space.