Big Gap School 1919 - 1954 south of Highway 599 on Range Road 73A in Alberta. Highway 599 runs east of Castor, Alberta. I was perusing Google and found this one by chance. I thought it was a school when I saw it on the satellite view and when I found the time to drive there it turned out to be Big Gap School.
The sign is overgrown and easy to miss. The building is in rough shape. I think cattle have been in it several times.
Behind the school was a foundation so there must have been another building like a teacherage.
Those metal signs are going to last longer than the buildings.
ReplyDeleteYou have an amazing ability to search out interesting sites to visit. It looks like this old school won't last too much longer.
ReplyDeleteJust lucky.
DeleteThere seem to be a vast (seemingly endless) number of old, one room schools - long abandoned - in Alberta. Why so many? Is it that the communities that supported them (or the farms) are long gone?
ReplyDeleteIn their heyday there were at least a few thousand in Alberta. I have heard over five thousand. Many were lost through various means. Each school years ago was its own school district. If there were enough school age children in an area a school had to be built since school was mandatory. Over time school districts consolidated, some schools were no longer needed, and some were left to their fate where they were built. I also spend time tracking down schools that are still standing and posting them. It might look like a lot since I like them as a subject.
DeleteNorth Dakota has a fair amount. A friend of mine has found quite a few.
I live in an old one room schoolhouse in NorCal that was built in 1868. In old photos there's a building out back that's not here anymore. We always figured it was a storage shed used in part for recess equipment but found out from a dear old friend who attended school here that it was a wood shed. Then he added "That's where I kissed my first girl!".
ReplyDeleteLove it. Would like to see a photo of your home.
DeleteLooks like this one will stay standing for awhile yet.
ReplyDelete