Description of Historic Place

Southey’s First Original Classroom School is a Municipal Heritage Property located on a civic complex that encompasses one full block in the Town of Southey. The designation is restricted to a 1906 one-room, gable-roofed, clapboard schoolhouse located on the property.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of Southey’s First Original Classroom School rests in its status as Southey’s first school. This building is typical of the first generation of one-room schools built during the early 1900s in Saskatchewan and Alberta. The rectangular, wood-frame, gable-roofed construction of this heritage building reflects elements of the standard one-room school plan that was widely circulated by the Territorial Department of Education in the early 1900s. In 1911, a larger school was built and Southey’s first school was subsequently used as a church and then a private residence. In 1980, the building was relocated to a civic complex and the interior was renovated to resemble its original appearance as a school. Today, Southey’s First Original Classroom School is one of the oldest buildings in the community.

Source:

Town of Southey Bylaw No. 20-1986.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of Southey’s First Original Classroom School lies in the following character-defining elements:
-those architectural features that are typical of its early prairie one-room school design, such as the large windows, gable roof and rectangular form.