April 25 2016

Fairfield East a One Room Schoolhouse in Elizabethtown

John One Room School Houses in Elizabethtown Education, Elizabethtown Township Ontario, Fairfield East Ontario, Leeds and Grenville County Ontario, One Room School House 0

Fairfield East

School School Section No. 8

The first school was a log cabin built on the west corner of the farm owned by McDougall’s. Johnathan Barr was the teacher and was noted for his stern and strict qualities. When the community became more settled it was found that the school was not central nor adequate enough so a second school was built about a mile and half farther west. This one also passed into history with the erection of a third, which was built a few rods [sic] east again and which is most up to date.^[1]

About 1865 a wooden frame school was built west of the McDougall farm and around 1900 the third Fairfield East School was erected. The school was phased out during the school consolidation of the 1960’s. ^{(R&T Darling Collection Bk3)}

School Superintendents Report (Ontario Archives)

Shows the following information, which in some cases contradicts what we have already researched, and contradicts other filed School Superintendents Reports:

1850: Frame Building, size 20×24, no construction date, condition Good

1854: Log building, first opened in 1808

^{[1] The Recorder & Times Apr 11, 1927 “ Fairfield and its Pioneers by Mrs. H.E.Pyke}

The back of a post card from 1918 that was sent from Smith’s Falls to Master Marshall Rowley, Fairfield East, Ontario. Care of Mr. W. H. Rowley.

The post card reads as follows:

Smith’s Falls, Ontario, July 20,1918

Dear Marshall,

How are you and the rest enjoying your holidays? I hope you are feeling better and will be ready for a good start at school. Tell Ranson he failed in Arithmetic as he only got 16 marks and on Literature only 13 marks, and I couldn’t possibly promote him. Tell your mother I’ll write to her soon, your loving teacher M. Maitland.

Great way to ruin someone’s summer!