32) Stony Hill School

Stony Hill School

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The year 1900 was the beginning of the settlement of the Stony Hill School District. The pioneers were mostly Polish and Ukrainian people. They started settling by Stony Hill creek from its mouth at the Whitemouth River, following it south as far as the land was suitable for farming. Times were hard then; there were no roads, just trails from one homestead to another. The closest store where one could buy flour, groceries, etc was in Whitemouth about 8 miles away. There was just a trail and supplies had to be carried on one’s back. Roads were built later by hand.  Electricity and telephone both came to the area in 1953. In 1907 the CNR mainline went through Elma which was a huge help to the people living in the district, as they were now able to get their supplies and groceries from Elma.

As the homesteaders’ children started growing up, the need for a school was obvious. The Stony Hill School started in 1907. It was a one-room school, built on land donated by farmer, teaching grades one to eight. Higher grades had to attend Elma school. The Average yearly attendance was about 40 pupils, but some years as many as 75 attended. The school closed in 1967 and the district was dissolved, its area becoming part of the Agassiz School Division. The building and teacherage were renovated into private residences which remain at the site.

Among the teachers of Stony Hill School through the years were Theodore Kochan (1909), J. Bielinski (1911), S. P. Basarobwicz (1915), J. A. McDaniels (1920), Laura A. Strong (1925), J. W. Chinchak (1930), Ernest Nakka (1932-1937), J. Zurbyk (1945), Pat Thompson (1949), Olive M. Parks (1955), Mrs. J. Parisian (1959), Peter D. Matthies (1959), Lloyd Klaprat (1965), and Fred A. Peters (1967).

Additional Details

Civic Number: 58 129 Stony Hill Road   l    Amenities on Site: N/A   l    Building on Site: Yes; Private Residence.

Stony Hill School (no date). Photo courtesy of Ken Jacobs	Stony Hill School & Teacherage (no date). Photo courtesy of R. Goulet