Silverton School - Silverton, BC - Former Schools on Waymarking.com

Opened in 1917, this school served the community as an elementary school until the 1970s. In the plaza in front of the building is the Frank Mills Outdoor Mining Museum.

In 1917, the two-story Silverton School opened, as the population of the community had outgrown the old schoolhouse. During the early years of Silverton, many families moved to the community because of the jobs created by the area's mines and mills.

This striking two-classroom schoolhouse taught local children from grades one to six until the 1970s. From 1977 to 1996, the east side of the lower level housed Silverton's Fire Department.

Elementary classes were held in the two-class-room school, which is now the "Gallery". One class-room had three grades, and the other had four, each with their own teacher. The first two teachers were Mr. Sparks, who was a very strict disciplinarian, and Miss Wilmas, who taught the lower grades.

The high school was in a small wooden building with a pot-bellied stove at the back of the room. There was one teacher for every subject from Grade eight through twelve, with five or six students per class. Mr. Perry Smith was the first teacher of the high school. The high school was known as the Superior School.

After extensive renovations in the early 1980s, the building was renamed the Silverton Gallery. This facility is now valued as a cultural centre. It continues its civic function by housing a gallery and Interpretive Centre. The gallery hosts art exhibits, classes, music, theatre productions and community events. The museum displays a collection of local artefacts and archives.

Address: 408 4th Street Silverton, BC Canada V0G 2B0 Web Site: [Web Link]

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