Gone from this property, Pitt Meadows' first school house, the Number One School Pitt Meadows, opened here in September, 1909, five years before the municipality incorporated. It was a one room building and sat on property donated by William R. McMyn, an early settler and farmer. In 1994 a former student of the school, Hazel Anderson, wrote of her early memories of the school as follows: “There was no electricity, running water or inside plumbing, just outhouses. There was a big hand pump on a well outside and a tin cup hung on it for all to use. At the back of the school room was a big wood burning stove that the teacher had to keep burning during the cold weather. Those that sat near it were too hot and up front were cold. There was a small entrance hall with the boys’ coat closet on one side and the girls’ on the other. There were five rows of desks; three were double desks and two rows single. I had to sit with a boy in a double desk so really got teased by the rest of the class… We all carried our lunch in little lard or syrup pails and I guess there was good plain food in them as there was no ice cream, pop, potato chips, etc….”.
Just prior to the First World War a second one room school was built at the corner of Harris and McNeil Roads in the northern area of Pitt Meadows. It was officially the Number Two School Pitt Meadows but was more commonly known as the Richardson School. In the 1930's the Superior School System was adopted in Pitt Meadows giving one principal responsibility over both of these schools as well as three additional buildings for a total of six classrooms encompassing grades one through ten. During the same decade a second building was constructed on the Number One School site to house the senior elementary grades. High school students continued to attend classes in Maple Ridge. Also around this time the basement of the Number One School was turned into a manual training shop. Up until 1945 Pitt Meadows had its own school district and trustees, but became part of School District 42 in 1945.
In 1953 the five rooms Pitt Meadows Elementary School opened. The Number One school was intended to be used as overflow classrooms but mysteriously burned prior to the beginning of the school year. Pitt Meadows Elementary is now the oldest of the four elementary schools currently in service in Pitt Meadows. Pitt Meadows Secondary School opened in 1961.
Much of the Number One school site is now Lion's Park. Nothing remains of the school site but the park is dedicated to children with an abundance of playground equipment.<\/p>","SEO_LINK":"number-one-school-site","VIDEO_LINK":"","SOUNDCLOUD_LINK":"","IMG1":"1652392483_main_1number-one-school-site.jpg","IMG2":"1652392484_main_2number-one-school-site.jpg","IMG3":"","IMG4":"","IMG5":"","IMG6":"","IMG7":"","IMG1_THUMB":"","IMG2_THUMB":"","IMG3_THUMB":"","IMG4_THUMB":"","IMG5_THUMB":"","IMG6_THUMB":"","IMG7_THUMB":""}X
Number One School site
Gone from this property, Pitt Meadows' first school house, the Number One School Pitt Meadows, opened here in September, 1909, five years before the municipality incorporated. It was a one room building and sat on property donated by William R. McMyn, an early settler and farmer. In 1994 a former student of the school, Hazel Anderson, wrote of her early memories of the school as follows: “There was no electricity, running water or inside plumbing, just outhouses. There was a big hand pump on a well outside and a tin cup hung on it for all to use. At the back of the school room was a big wood burning stove that the teacher had to keep burning during the cold weather. Those that sat near it were too hot and up front were cold. There was a small entrance hall with the boys’ coat closet on one side and the girls’ on the other. There were five rows of desks; three were double desks and two rows single. I had to sit with a boy in a double desk so really got teased by the rest of the class… We all carried our lunch in little lard or syrup pails and I guess there was good plain food in them as there was no ice cream, pop, potato chips, etc….”.
Just prior to the First World War a second one room school was built at the corner of Harris and McNeil Roads in the northern area of Pitt Meadows. It was officially the Number Two School Pitt Meadows but was more commonly known as the Richardson School. In the 1930's the Superior School System was adopted in Pitt Meadows giving one principal responsibility over both of these schools as well as three additional buildings for a total of six classrooms encompassing grades one through ten. During the same decade a second building was constructed on the Number One School site to house the senior elementary grades. High school students continued to attend classes in Maple Ridge. Also around this time the basement of the Number One School was turned into a manual training shop. Up until 1945 Pitt Meadows had its own school district and trustees, but became part of School District 42 in 1945.
In 1953 the five rooms Pitt Meadows Elementary School opened. The Number One school was intended to be used as overflow classrooms but mysteriously burned prior to the beginning of the school year. Pitt Meadows Elementary is now the oldest of the four elementary schools currently in service in Pitt Meadows. Pitt Meadows Secondary School opened in 1961.
Much of the Number One school site is now Lion's Park. Nothing remains of the school site but the park is dedicated to children with an abundance of playground equipment.
Details:
Latitude: 49.2174849778836
Longitude: -122.68900394439
Direct Link: https://www.pittmeadowsmuseum.com/locations/number-one-school-site
