Mount Hanley Schoolhouse Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 1963 |
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| Location | Mount Hanley, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia Canada |
| Type | community schoolhouse museum |
The Mount Hanley Schoolhouse Museum is a special place in Mount Hanley, Nova Scotia. It's a museum inside an old one-room school building. This museum teaches visitors about the history of Mount Hanley and nearby towns. It also shows what school life was like a long time ago. A very famous sailor, Joshua Slocum, went to this school in the 1850s.
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A School for All Ages: 1850-1963
The school building was built in 1850. It replaced an even older school made of logs. This new school was officially called "The Mount Hanley School Section No. 10." Many new schools were built in Nova Scotia during the 1850s. This was thanks to William Dawson, who was the first leader of schools in the province.
Famous Students of Mount Hanley School
One famous student was Joshua Slocum. He was born on a farm near the school in 1844. Joshua learned to read and write here until he was eight years old. His family then moved away in 1854.
Another important student was Clara Belle Marshall. In 1884, she became the first woman to graduate from Acadia University. Ora Blossom Elliott, another student from Mount Hanley, also graduated from Acadia University in 1906. She wrote a valuable history of early Mount Hanley in 1909.
Changes Over Time
In the 1930s, a small library was added to the school. The school taught all grades until 1949. After that, students who finished Grade Six went to the new Middleton Regional High School. The Mount Hanley School closed its doors in 1963. This happened because smaller country schools joined together into bigger schools in towns. From then on, children from Mount Hanley took a bus to a new elementary school in Lawrencetown.
Joshua Slocum: A World Sailor
Joshua Slocum was born in Mount Hanley on February 20, 1844. He went to this school until he was eight. Then, his family moved to Brier Island. Joshua started with humble beginnings but became an amazing sailor. He was the first person to sail alone all the way around the world!
His life shows us courage, determination, and honesty. He had the strength to live his dreams and face challenges to succeed. He once said, "To succeed in anything at all, one should go understandingly about his work and be prepared for every emergency." In 1995, a special group placed a memorial at the Schoolhouse Museum. This was to celebrate 100 years since his amazing trip around the world.
The Barteaux Family's Museum: 1963-2006
When the school closed in 1963, Alton and Laurette Barteaux bought the building. They lived right next door. They also bought everything inside the school. This included all the books, desks, maps, and other school items. They started their own private museum called the Mount Hanley Schoolhouse Museum.
Because the school's contents were never sold off, the Barteaux family saved everything. They kept items from 124 years of schooling. This included school records going back to 1894. They also added items from other old schoolhouses and families in Mount Hanley. The museum was open by appointment. Over the years, it was featured in several books about Joshua Slocum. In 1995, the school became a provincial heritage property. This meant it was very important because it was a well-preserved old school. It was also special because of its links to Joshua Slocum and Clara Belle Marshall.
A Community Museum: 2006 to Today
On June 1, 2005, a new group was formed. It was called the Mount Hanley and District Schoolhouse Museum Society. Their goal was to keep the building safe and open to everyone. Alton and Laurette Barteaux generously gave the school to this society in 2006.
Today, the museum is open to the public during the summer. Volunteers help run the museum. The society is working on making the museum displays even better. They are also organizing and listing all the items in the school's collection.
Why This School is Special
This building is seen as one of the oldest and best-preserved examples of a standard school design. This design was created by William Dawson. He was a pioneer in education for the province. Dawson later became a famous geologist and president of McGill University. He carefully studied how schools should be built.
Dawson was inspired by an American educator named Henry Barnard. Barnard wrote a book in 1842 called "School Architecture." In 1850, Dawson published his own pamphlet. It was called "School Architecture; abridged from Barnard's School Architecture." The Mount Hanley school perfectly shows Dawson's ideas. It is an early example of a design that was later used in many other communities in the Maritime provinces.
Original Features
The outside of the school has stayed almost the same since 1850. The only big change was a small woodshed added in 1892. You can even still see the carved initials of many generations of students on the wooden shingles! Inside, some changes happened over time. New blackboards were put in, and cast iron desks were added. However, three of the original handmade wooden desks are still there. These are known as "Dawson Desks" because they were made exactly how Dawson wanted them. One of the original slate blackboards has also survived.
Where to Find the Museum
The schoolhouse is still in its original spot. It's on the east side of the Mount Hanley Road. It faces Brown Road. This is about nine kilometers northwest of the town of Middleton. Today, it's a quiet country spot on the North Mountain. But in 1850, it was a busy and important place. A store and two mills were close to the school. They used water from a Mill Pond. Local stories say that Joshua Slocum had his first "sea voyage" there, paddling a washtub!
Museum Connections
The museum works with other groups. These include the CMA, the CHIN, and the Virtual Museum of Canada.
Website
Mount Hanley Schoolhouse Museum
