The first schoolhouse on the northeast corner of Carlisle Road and Concession 8 Road East was constructed around 1865. This building was a “rickety” frame structure with two rooms. The school was located extremely close to the road at this time and students were often in danger of being run over by passing horse-drawn wagons as they had no other playground. The original school was extremely small and cramped. There were long benches and desks in the classroom that seated three to four people at a time. The school was also very overcrowded, causing new pupils to sit on the windowsills for lack of space. The building was surrounded by a stump fence and was so poorly constructed that winter wind often sifted through the cracks. John Calder was the first teacher in this building, but left after only a few years.
The next schoolhouse, a “modern” two-storey brick building was constructed in 1872. The upper storey was for senior students who were taught by Mr. Marshall Rymal while the lower storey for junior and primary students were instructed by Ms. Georgina Sutton. As there was not a timepiece in the school, the teachers used marks on the window to determine the time on sunny days, but on days that were overcast, a male student was sent to a local farmhouse to find out the time. Water for the students also had to be fetched by older boys from local farms, with the children jostling each other upon their return for who would get the first drink from the only tin cup. Friday afternoons often included recitations, readings, dialogues and singing hosted by Mr. Rymal for his students. During the summer months, this program was occasionally displaced by the students request to wash the floor for an afternoon. The lunch hour often included swimming for the boys in Carlisle who would run a mile there and back for a quick plunge in the Twelve Mile Creek. Children also played hopscotch, ring round rosey, dog and deer, marbles, bull in the ring, and hat ball during lunch time. On the last afternoon before Christmas holidays, the students would have an open house for their parents and friends where they would show work from their various studies and host a program of entertainment.
The second school was torn down as it began to show signs of wear and a new two-storey school was constructed in 1922. This building was situated further back from the road than wither of its predecessors and an embankment was put in place as motorized traffic was becoming common in East Flamborough. The new building was heated using steam, contained an air pressure water system, and had electric lighting. The school yard was soon enlarged with the addition of adjoining land, and, in the 1920s, two large spruce trees were planted by Ms. Mary Chernesky outside the front entrance. Additions of single classrooms were built to house the growing student population in 1954, 1956, and 1959. During this time, milk used to be delivered to the school, both white and chocolate, although the latter was banned by teachers for fear of students’ teeth rotting.
Children from the Concessions Seven to Nine attended the school and had to walk through fields to reach the building. In 1969, students in Grades Seven and Eight were transferred to Flamborough Centre. This meant that only Grade Four, Five, and Six students were attending Victoria School as Kindergarten through Grade Three students attended Balaclava School in Carlisle.
By the late 1980s, the poor condition of Victoria School was attracting the attention of parents, teachers, and members of the Wentworth County School Board. The Balaclava-Victoria Parent Group petitioned the Board to close or update the school as the roof was water-stained, overhangs were rotten, paint was peeling, brickwork was deteriorating, windows were screenless, pipes were leaky, and the school contained few fire protection amenities. As Balaclava was also showing the need for major repairs, the Board decided to build a new school on the Balaclava lot for the students of both these schools. In 1989, Victoria School closed its doors to students. The building sat vacant for seven years, with smashed windows and graffiti throughout, until 1996 when the Board had the building demolished.
© The Waterdown-East Flamborough Heritage Society 2009, 2024.
