Avon School

You can still find many former one room schools out on the vast Canadian Plains. Surviving for any number of reasons, some were simply abandoned but left standing where as others were reused (and sometimes moved) to serve as farm out buildings or granaries. A few have been fixed up to appear as though still a school and made curious roadside memorials, some are in museums, but many were saved to be used as community centres. In that latter category it’s tiny Avon School seen here, in the proverbial middle of nowhere…also know as Saskatchewan (he said smiling).

While it doesn’t appear it’s been used for social get-togethers that often, it’s kept up and over all, considering its advanced age especially, remains in good condition. Of all the one-roomers we’ve seen, it’s about the smallest and I’m sure you’d be hard pressed to stuff in more than a handful of students and a teacher into the cramped space. It’s phone booth tight (oh God, that just dated us). If they held dances here, three couples on the floor, max, and the band better be no more than a duo.

We heard no sounds, we saw no traffic on the dusty township road and standing there we got to know what it’s like to be utterly alone. No farms off in the distance, no nothing, yet at one time enough kids lived in the immediate area to support its use.

Built in 1913 it was until 1941 located a few kilometres south of the present position. Nothing makes mention as to why they moved it, but perhaps that made it more central to the kids attending. Enrolment couldn’t have been more than eight or ten and it’s a good bet at least some of the students came from the same households.

Classes were last held in 1962, but it’s now used from time to time (although we suspect not much recently – the rural population is shrinking) for community get-togethers. You know parties, BBQs, meetings and that sort of stuff and it was probably used as such even while a school. But mostly it stands empty with only the occasional backroad explorer stopping by.

The nearest town is some ten kilometres distant, but one with actual services (stores, eateries, gas stations) many times that. In the old days, you might as well have been on the moon. There used to be a lot more farms and families in the area compared to present day.

It’s a pretty typical country school, with a small mud room, a single classroom and little else. Two banks of windows let in plenty of sun, a nice eco-friendly way to light the place. This was actually by necessity as electricity didn’t come till much later. On cold dark February mornings, oil lamps were likely used. That the main room is so small made photographing it difficult, even with a wide lens and with two of us inside it felt quite cramped. There appears to be a basement of some sort, but that’s spider territory, so we didn’t investigate. The heating plant (coal or oil stove?) must be down there.

Avon operated as School District #3091 and was one of thousands and thousands of one room schools once found in Saskatchewan. Add in thousands more in Alberta and Manitoba and you can see they were once quite common out in the Prairies. Depending on the density of the local student population, they would be placed every so many clicks. Improvements in the road system in the Post War era were their downfall and it was easier to just bus kids to larger, centralized in-town facilities.

The building is painted a pleasant soft yellow although that electric green trim in the interior…whoa! There’s nothing really inside, some benches, a few wall decorations and that’s it. Curious what’s in that suitcase? Turns out it held nothing, although we fully expected some creepy doll to pop out, put in there as a prank for shock value and meant for unsuspecting visitors like us. Hmmm, that gives us an idea…just thinking out loud.

The Lino floor and curtains are right out of an old MacLeod’s catalogue but in spite of the dated décor, it’s a quaint little place.

We stand there and imagine the hardships the kids and teachers went though. Those Saskatchewan winters are no walk in the park don’t you know. The long trudge to class (uphill, both ways, right?), the biting wind and that overwhelming sense of isolation. Talk about challenging. It could warp your mind and that anyone made it out sane strikes as some kind of miracle. But the old timers were a tough bunch, not that they had a choice given the demanding conditions.

We suspect there was a playground of some kind on the property (swing, teeter-totter maybe) out there in the grassy field that surrounds the building. A row of hedges makes for a simple windbreak. It can get pretty blustery out this way, yet it remained eerily calm (and was oddly snow-free) on our visit in March 2021.

The road calls and it’s one last look over the shoulder. We’ve seen many schools like this and never tire of it. Goodbye Avon SD #3091 and perhaps we’ll see you again some time (we’ll bring the doll too). School’s out and thanks for allowing us to tag along Dale.

Till the next pop-history write up, stay awesome.

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More like this…
Liberty School.
Roland School.
Bay Island One Room School.

If you feel like chatting or want more information on what you see here feel free to contact us!

Date of Adventure: March, 2021.
Location(s): Lost in SK.
Article references and thanks: The Saskatchewan One Room School Project and our good friend Dale for the tour.
If you visit Avon School, please be nice and close the door on leaving.

Avon School on the vast Saskatchewan Plains.

It’s still used occasionally for community functions.

In this corner…

Bags are packed.

It’s so tiny and in the middle of nowhere.