One of the few old wood framed one room schoolhouses to have survived on the Island, Orwell School has been well maintained and preserved as a nineteenth century school. Opened for classes in 1895, the school continued in use until school consolidation forced its closure in 1969. Inside it still contains all the accoutrements one would have found in the school at the turn of the twentieth century and earlier.
Today the schoolhouse is one of the attractions at the
Orwell Corner Historic Village, an authentic historic village of old buildings which once constituted the Village of Orwell. The intent of the village is to preserve the old village and present it as it was circa 1895.
Opening days and hours for the village for 2015 were as follows:
(Future years should be essentially the same)
July 1 to Friday August 28 - Daily 9:30 am - 5:00 pm.
Closed Sept 7th to allow our staff to enjoy a well deserved
Labour Day
August 31 to Saturday October 16. Open Monday through Friday
9:15 am to 4:45 pm.
We will close for the season at 4:45 pm Friday October 16th.
Schoolhouse
The Orwell School opened in 1895 with Mr. J.S. O'Neill engaged by the local school trustees to teach Grades 1 through 10. Although Orwell School lacked things considered basic today, many of its scholars went went on to achieve high standings in colleges and universities. Others stayed in the community to learn a trade or work family farms, while some of the more adventurous went to sea or left the Island in search of opportunity.
From the Orwell Corner Historic Village
Orwell School
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
The Orwell School is a well preserved rural one room schoolhouse located in the Orwell Corner Historic Village. Constructed by local artisans in 1895, it has a wood frame, shingle cladding, and a gable roof. The designation includes the footprint of the building, it does not include the building's interior.
HERITAGE VALUE
The Orwell School is valued as a well preserved representation of rural school architecture in 19th Century Prince Edward Island. Constructed in 1895, the school replaced several that had been in the area since the first crude log structure in 1825. It operated until 1969 when school consolidation forced it to close. The building was later rejuvenated to mark the 1973 centennial of Prince Edward Island in Canadian Confederation when it opened as part of the Orwell Corner Historic Village - one of the sites of the Prince Edward Island Museum and Heritage Foundation.
CHARACTER-DEFINING ELEMENTS
- the overall massing and shape of the building with its wood frame and wood shingle cladding
- the gable roof with simple trim mouldings
- the decorative Gothic quatrefoil window in the upper gable end of the building
- the placement and style of the six over six single sash windows throughout the exterior
- the placement of the brick chimney
- the placement and style of the side entrance door
- the location and style of the sign on the gable end of the building
From Historic Places Canada