The Heritage Corner, Springhill Record
October 12, 2005
Oct. 12, 2005 - Schools
Since this is the beginning of a new school year I thought I would share with you an article that appeared in the Springhill Record on April 25, 1979 .
Rules for Teachers in 1872
1.Teachers each day will fill lamps and clean chimneys
2.Each teacher will bring a bucket of water and a scuttle of coal for the day’s session.
3.Make your pens carefully; you may whittle nibs to the individual taste of the pupils.
4.Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting purposes or two evenings if they go to church regularly.
5.After 10 hours in school, the teacher may spend the remaining time reading the Bible or other good books.
6.Women teachers who marry or engage in unseemly conduct will be dismissed.
7.Every teacher should lay aside from each pay a goodly sum of his earnings during his reclining years so that he will not be a burden on Society.
8.Any teacher who smokes, uses liquor in any form, frequent pools or public halls, or get shaved in a barber shop will give good reason to suspect his worth, intention, integrity and honesty.
9.The teacher who performs his labour faithfully and without fault for five years will be given an increase of twenty-five cents per week in his pay providing the Board of Education approves.
The earliest school in what was to be Springhill, according to the Public Archives, was in 1849 and list George W. Nixon as the teacher. The location of this school is unknown. The pioneer school house was built in 1853 in Miller Corner. This was the only school for many years until it accidentally burned. The barroom of the hotel (Jim Miller’s at Miller Corner) was used as a temporary school. Then the Barnes’ store was moved up and used as a schoolhouse.
When the settlers really started to come to Springhill there wasn’t any school house, so in 1873, they took the store which had been built by James Hickman and made it into a school house. This first school was located near a brook on McDougall St. (Frog Hollow).
The next school built was the Elgin St. School in 1874 and was in use until it was condemned. The second Elgin St. School was built in 1924 In 1886 there was a new school house built off Herrett Rd. on Black River Road on the Commons. This was the Syndicate School or the Commons School . It was used for more than 35 years. In 1889 the first Junction Road School was built. This was the High School until 1910 when the new High School was built on Church St and the Junction Road School was used for lower grades. This High School has since been torn down and replaced with the Junior & Senior High School. The first West End School was built in 1891 and was in use until it burned in 1958. The Margaret Rose School (named after Princess Margaret) was built in 1948. The building was condemned in 1963 and torn down. A new West End School was built in 1960 followed by the Springhill Memorial School .
