This tiny one room log schoolhouse was built in 1912 by John Potter Bell. It served as the community's school until replaced by a wood frame building on this site in 1922. This log building was originally in Park Siding, about 1 km north east and across the highway.
The wood frame school on this site had been restored and displayed as a heritage building. When it burned down in 1989, this building was moved to this site and, as a gift to the children of B.C., lovingly and meticulously restored by the son of the builder and a one time student of the school, Jack Bell, assisted by the Beaver Valley Historical Association.
Open for viewing from mid May to mid September, it now is displayed as a heritage building by the Kootenay Boundary Regional District and The Beaver Valley And The Pend d'Oreille Historical Society.
A quote from the Columbia Basin Trust's
Built Heritage Report (listing Number 55) states that this is the "
Only log schoolhouse left in the West Kootenays. It has been moved to the site of the second school which burned in 1947. One of few remaining one room schools. Contains local and regional children’s school desks along with a number of local artifacts".
Following is text from a historical marker at the schoolhouse.
Park Siding Schoolhouse
This log schoolhouse was built in 1912 by J.P. Bell and was located further west on the other side of the highway. Local children attended the log school until 1922 when a wood frame school was opened on this site. In 1989 the log school was moved to this location from its original site and restored between 1989 and 1991 when it was designated a historical site. This school is owned by the Kootenay Boundary Regional District, cared for by the Beaver Valley and the Pend d'Oreille Historical Society, and open from mid-May through mid-September.
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