Craigflower Manor and Schoolhouse - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Craigflower Manor and Craigflower Schoolhouse are National Historic Sites of Canada located in View Royal, British Columbia

View Royal, British Columbia

View Royal is a town in Greater Victoria and a member municipality of the Capital Regional District of British Columbia, Canada. View Royal has a population of approximately 8000 residents and was incorporated as a municipality in December 1988....

near Victoria

Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

. The centerpiece of each historic site is a 19th century building — a manor

Manor house

A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...

and schoolhouse

One-room school

One-room schools were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In most rural and small town schools, all of the students met in a single room...

commissioned by the Hudson's Bay Company

Hudson's Bay Company

The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...

to provide education and lodging for their employees. Built as part of the agricultural community Craigflower Farm, the buildings served as a focal point for the community into the modern era; they remain open to the public today as museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

s devoted to the colonial

Colonialism

Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...

history of Victoria.

The sites also have unique archaeological

Archaeology

Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...

merit, encompassing three distinct periods, and types, of human habitation which span thousands of years. In addition, the existing structures

Building

In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...

have great historical and cultural value

Value (personal and cultural)

A personal or cultural value is an absolute or relative ethical value, the assumption of which can be the basis for ethical action. A value system is a set of consistent values and measures. A principle value is a foundation upon which other values and measures of integrity are based...

, remaining some of the best, and last, examples of their kind in Canada. These factors combine to make these two sites important Canadian National Historic Sites, and have been given government protection for the public trust

Public trust

The concept of the public trust relates back to the origins of democratic government and its seminal idea that within the public lies the true power and future of a society; therefore, whatever trust the public places in its officials must be respected....

Site history

The land in the area was formed during the last ice age

Ice age

An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...

in North America, approximately 13,000 years ago, when receding glaciers carved a deep gouge into the earth, which became a number of small lakes and streams. Over time, these lakes rejoined the ocean, becoming a salt-water inlet

Inlet

An inlet is a narrow body of water between islands or leading inland from a larger body of water, often leading to an enclosed body of water, such as a sound, bay, lagoon or marsh. In sea coasts an inlet usually refers to the actual connection between a bay and the ocean and is often called an...

known today as the Gorge waterway, which the indigenous people call "Kosapsom". The Lekwungen, a Coast Salish

Coast Salish

Coast Salish languages are a subgroup of the Salishan language family. These languages are spoken by First Nations or Native American peoples inhabiting the territory that is now the southwest coast of British Columbia around the Strait of Georgia and Washington state around Puget Sound...

tribe and ancestors of the modern Esquimalt and Songhees

Songhees

The Songhees or Songish, also known as the Lekwungen or Lekungen, are an indigenous North American Coast Salish people who reside on southeastern Vancouver Island, British Columbia in the Greater Victoria area...

First Nations

First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...

, settled in the area, calling the whole region "Camossung

Camosun

Camosun or Camosack was the name of a Songhees settlement near the site of the present-day Empress Hotel on Vancouver Island. It now refers to:* Camosun College* The Camosun Bog in the Pacific Spirit Park....

", after the legend of a girl they believed was turned to stone there.

Archaeologists working in the Gulf of Georgia, Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...

, and the Lower Mainland

Lower Mainland

The Lower Mainland is a name commonly applied to the region surrounding and including Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. As of 2007, 2,524,113 people live in the region; sixteen of the province's thirty most populous municipalities are located there.While the term Lower Mainland has been...

have identified several distinct periods of cultural activity, known as "culture types" in the region. The site at Craigflower Farm exhibits three of these culture types, known as "Locarno Beach", "Gulf of Georgia" and "Historic". The "Historic" culture type refers to the colonial settlement of the area, and is contiguous with the European colonization; a majority of the artifacts recovered from the site have been dated to this period.

The other two periods of human habitation are discernible mainly by the presence of a large shell midden on the site; testifying to the abundant shellfish

Shellfish

Shellfish is a culinary and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environments, some kinds are found only in freshwater...

and game

Game (food)

Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...

in the area. The earliest of the periods, the "Locarno Beach" type, used many different types of stone tool

Stone tool

A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool made either partially or entirely out of stone. Although stone tool-dependent societies and cultures still exist today, most stone tools are associated with prehistoric, particularly Stone Age cultures that have become extinct...

s, including microblades

Microblade technology

Microblade technology is a period of technological development marked by the creation and use of small stone blades, which are produced by chipping silica-rich stones like chert, quartz, or obsidian. Blades are a specialized type of lithic flake that are at least twice as long as they are wide...

, adzes, and other shaped or sharpened objects. The next culture type, dating from around 2500 years ago and known as the "Gulf of Georgia" type, is characterized by an increased use of bone tools, such as wedges and awls made from antlers, as well as different kinds of wood. This culture type's presence on the site ends with the arrival of Europeans

European ethnic groups

The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....

, and the colonization of Vancouver Island — altogether, around 1000 indigenous artifacts were recovered from the site during two separate archaeological digs.

Both the manor and the schoolhouse were part of a settlement known as Craigflower Farm, which was one of Western Canada's

Western Canada

Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...

first farming communities. Established in 1853 by the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, a subsidiary of the Hudson's Bay Company

Hudson's Bay Company

, the farm was to supply fresh produce to the nearby Fort Victoria

Fort Victoria (British Columbia)

Fort Victoria was a fur trading post of the Hudson’s Bay Company, the headquarters of HBC operations in British Columbia. The fort was the beginnings of a settlement that eventually grew into the modern Victoria, British Columbia, the capital city of British Columbia.The headquarters of HBC...

, and to aid in settlement of lower Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island

. The farm was named after Craigflower Farm in England which was owned by Andrew Colville

Andrew Colville

Andrew Wedderburn Colvile was a London governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. His son, Eden Colvile was appointed Governor of Rupert's Land.-External links:*...

, Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company from 1852 to 1856. The land for the farm, was purchased from the Esquimalt First Nation (recorded as the "Kosapsom" on the treaty) in 1850, who relocated nearby.

Craigflower Schoolhouse

Originally called Maple Point School, the schoolhouse

One-room school

was commissioned by first farm director, Kenneth McKenzie, to provide education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

for the children of farm employees. This was to be the third school constructed in the colony of Vancouver Island, following Governor James Douglas

James Douglas (Governor)

Sir James Douglas KCB was a company fur-trader and a British colonial governor on Vancouver Island in northwestern North America, particularly in what is now British Columbia. Douglas worked for the North West Company, and later for the Hudson's Bay Company becoming a high-ranking company officer...

' call "to give a proper moral and religious training to the children of the settlers who are growing up in ignorance and the utter neglect of all their duties to God and society." The need was judged to be most severe for children of Protestant denomination, as Roman Catholics received (until 1851) "very able and zealous" instruction from a priest from the Society des Oblats. Construction was commenced, using timber milled on the farm, in August 1854 and continued until late February 1855. The first students took classes there in March of the same year, and were charged a fee of between 30 shilling

Shilling

The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...

s and 1 pound

Pound (currency)

The pound is a unit of currency in some nations. The term originated in England as the value of a pound of silver.The word pound is the English translation of the Latin word libra, which was the unit of account of the Roman Empire...

.

The two-story building was built in Georgian Revival style, and boasted a single schoolroom on the first floor, as well as six rooms for the teacher

Teacher

A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...

, their family, and student boarders

Boarding school

A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...

from other parts of Vancouver Island. A large brick fireplace, as well as a stove, provided heating for the building, and a bell salvaged from the wrecked steamship Major Tompkins was hung in the yard to call students to class. Initially, the school was accessible from the main part of the farm only by boat, but the 1856 completion of the first Craigflower bridge linked the two parts of the farm together.

The schoolhouse became the focal point of social and religious events on the farm, and saw continuous use until 1872 when town council

Town council

A town council is a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or civil parishes. A council may serve as both the representative and executive branch....

neglected to provide funding Victoria's schools. However, Education Act amendments returned the school to operation soon after, and in 1873 education was made mandatory for students aged seven to 14. The school continued to operated until 1911, when it was replaced by the second Craigflower school, built across the road. The current school, called Craigflower Elementary School

Craigflower Elementary School

Craigflower Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is the current version of the oldest schoolhouse in Western Canada, and National Historic Site, Craigflower Schoolhouse, and the third school to be called "Craigflower"...

, was built in 1964 to replace the aging 1911 building. The schoolhouse, however, was converted into a museum

Museum

in 1931 and run by a local service club until 1975 when the provincial Historical Parks board acquired it and restored the structure. It is still open today as a museum, located at 2755 Admirals Road, and managed by The Land Conservancy of British Columbia

The Land Conservancy

TLC The Land Conservancy of British Columbia is a not-for-profit, charitable land trust based in British Columbia, Canada.The purpose of the Society is to protect plants, animals, natural communities and landscape features that represent diversity of life on earth, by protecting the lands and...

in public trust — it is the oldest surviving schoolhouse in Western Canada, though it is often erroneously referred to as "the first school built in British Columbia".

Craigflower Manor

The manor house

Manor house

was built shortly after the completion of the schoolhouse, to serve as a home and office for the management of the Craigflower farm, and their family. The house was constructed as a Georgian Revival version of a Scottish manor house, at the request of Kenneth McKenzie's wife, Agnes. The foundation was laid in 1853, prior to the McKenzies' arrival, and was completed in May 1856.

A grand, two-story structure, the manor was over 900 square feet (83.6 m²) in size and second only to the first Government House

Government House (British Columbia)

Government House of British Columbia is the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, as well as that in Victoria of the Canadian monarch, and has casually been described as "the Ceremonial Home of all British Columbians." It stands in the provincial capital on a 8.9 ha ...

in elegance. The building boasted a dining room, sitting room, office, music room, kitchen, and four bedrooms for the large McKenzie family. Heat was provided by several fireplaces, serviced by two large brick chimneys. The manor was used as lodging up until 1922, when the Hudson's Bay Company converted it into a community centre

Community centre

Community centres or community centers or jumping recreation centers are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole community or for a specialised group within...

. It eventually became a hotel

Hotel

A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...

, before being sold to the government in 1965. As the building is the earliest, and one of the few remaining, examples of its type in Western Canada, it was extensively restored in 1967 by the province, before being run as a museum. It is currently open as part of the Craigflower Schoolhouse museum, run by The Land Conservancy, which also grows a community garden on the property.

External links

48.452649°N 123.421617°W

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Site history

Craigflower Schoolhouse

Craigflower Manor

See also

External links