Description du lieu patrimonial

The Broadview School is a two-storey building with a gable roof, covered front porch, and distinctive flight of steps. Now located at R.J. Haney Heritage Village & Museum in Salmon Arm, British Columbia.

Valeur patrimoniale

The Broadview School has significant aesthetic, cultural, and social value as it symbolizes the rural farming community's belief in the importance of education and demonstrates the area's communal social development.

The school was built in 1918 after Salmon Arm Central School was destroyed by a fire. Previously, children along Broadview Road, or "the Limit," had to either walk to the Central School in Salmon Arm, or to the North Canoe School at Peachy Hill, for classes. Mr. J.K. Fraser donated the land for the school on the north end of Broadview Road. The Province sent the plans for the Broadview School to M. MacKay, Secretary to the School Board. The frame was constructed with the windows facing west. The main stairs went from the outside to a vestibule. The school was heated by a wood stove, raised off the floor, and enclosed by a metal casing. There was a basement with a partitioned entrance on the west side. In 1955 to update the facility, an interior stairway to the basement was added when inside washrooms and a new furnace were installed.

Use of the divided space was separated by gender. Boys played on one side and the girls on the other. Division by gender continued outside with two outhouses: one for the girls and one for the boys. The Broadview School opened March 11, 1918 with 20 students and teacher Miss Vera Halpenny in attendance. Broadview School went on to serve its community for the next 32 years. Statistics show that enrollment at Broadview School increased throughout the 1940s with 55 registered in 1948. The 6 and 7 year olds were bussed to town to alleviate overcrowding. In spite of its increasing enrollment, Broadview School was slated for consolidation. It closed in 1951 and was turned over to the municipality. The building continued to be a social hub and was used for baby clinics and the occasional social gathering for the Broadview Community Club. The area's student population continued to grow, so the building was reopened by the School District in 1955 and Elizabeth (Betty) Butchart hired to teach. The South Broadview School was built in 1956 and the Broadview School became known as the North Broadview School. In 1976, North Broadview School became strictly a primary school. Faced with financial pressures, the school closed on June 30, 1986. Impacted students bussed to a neighbouring school the following September.

In 1988 Broadview School alumna Norma Harisch successfully lobbied to have the school moved to R.J. Haney Heritage Village & Museum. The building was reassembled and re-roofed. The classroom was restored in 1992 and desks, a stove, and an organ were installed. Elementary school classes have attended the museum's Pioneer Program since 1996, once again led by "Miss Halpenny." A tearoom was installed in the basement of the school in 1992 and operated until 2021. In 2023, the Children's Museum and Discovery Centre officially opened in the former tearoom.

Éléments caractéristiques

The Character-Defining Elements include the:

- Simple massing, traditional rectangular form, elevated gabled entrance, and cedar shingle roof
- Locally sourced materials used for construction including horizontal wood siding painted yellow with dark brown trim, its front partially clad in decorative wood singles
- Brick chimney
- Restored interior including original wainscoting, wood floors, and single paned glass windows
- Built-in book case with glass sliding doors
- Open classroom space enhanced by a high ceiling and ample natural light
- Simple cloakroom complete with coat hooks
- Functioning window hardware and chalkboards
- Current use as an educational tool for the community