Description of Historic Place

The Williamsburg School is located at 1385 Bleams Road, on the south side of Bleams Road west of Fischer-Hallman Road, in the City of Kitchener. The one storey rubble stone school house was constructed in 1864.

The property was designated, by the City of Kitchener in 1987 for its heritage value under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act (By-law 87-309).

Heritage Value

The Williamsburg School is one of the few remaining buildings associated with the former hamlet of Williamsburg. In 1863, Abram and Veronica Clements sold three quarters of an acre of their farm to the Trustees of School Section Number Seven (S.S. #7). In 1864 the one room school house was built.

The rubble stone construction and simple features such as the bell tower of the Williamsburg School reflect the building's original purpose as a rural school house and meeting place. Community groups such as the Beaver Literary Society and the Farmer's Club met there. In 1874 the interior of the school was expanded to allow for more students, and from 1875 to 1890, the building was also used for church services. In 1922 a basement and a cloakroom were built to accommodate growing community meetings. Finally, in February 1966 the Williamsburg School was closed and the building was converted into a private residence. A stone addition was added in 1987.

Sources: City of Kitchener By-law 87-309; City of Kitchener Recommendation for Designation Report; Cameron Shantz, Property Assessment Report, 1980.

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements that contribute to the heritage value of the Williamsburg School include its:
- bell tower
- one storey rubble stone construction
- gable roof
- two brick chimneys
- nine over six double hung windows
- porch
- basement
- cloakroom
- board and batten woodshed
- stone addition