Description of Historic Place

This one-and-one-half storey building has wood shingle cladding and a weathered appearance. Its gable roof has some remaining decorative bargeboard on the gable end facing the street. Some original multi-paned windows also remain intact.

Heritage Value

This building is valued for its historic association with the history of education in Georgetown. It was constructed as a church hall around 1845 and was originally located near the Holy Trinity Anglican Church several hundred feet south of its current location. Beginning in 1847, it served as the glebe school or infant school for the church and Town of Georgetown. The town was a shipbuilding centre beginning in the 1830s and with a growing population came the need for schools for the children.

Longtime Georgetown resident, James Easton (1822-1903), served as the Master of this school from 1847 to 1903. He was married to Helen Sanderson, whose father William Sanderson operated a large store in the town. James Easton was a lay reader at the Holy Trinity Anglican Church and also taught Sunday School.

When the school was starting, it was Easton's custom to use the King James Bible as a source of instruction. Controversy erupted when Roman Catholic families who opposed this decided to send their children to the public school. Eventually, the issue was resolved and older children in the town attended the public school, while younger ones attended Easton's glebe school or, as it became known, the "Infant School".

Early photographs of the building show that it had a great deal of Gothic Revival details. These included paired pointed arch windows on the side elevations and a circular oculus window in the front gable. Today, some decorative bargeboard trim remains as well as the bottom section of windows on the side elevation. At some point, the circular window was replaced by a square one in the front gable. The small entrance porch has also been removed.

When enrollment began to decline in the Infant School, the church sold the building around 1930 to James Jardine. He was a mechanic and moved the building to its current location to use as his workshop. It was later sold to its current owner in 1972 who also uses it as a workshop.

The early construction methods used in the building are evident in interior details such as the wooden pegs used to secure braces to the rafters. Although it has a weathered appearance, the structure is an important link to the early history of education in both Georgetown and the province.

Source: Culture and Heritage Division, PEI Department of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8
File #: 4310-20/TR14

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the building is shown in the following character-defining elements:

- the one-and-one-half storey massing
- the wood frame and wood shingle cladding
- the gable roof with remaining bargeboard trim
- the multi-paned windows
- the entrance in the gable end
- the shed roofed extension at the back of the building