Description of Historic Place

The Teacherage is a small red and white, wood frame, shingle roofed building situated immediately adjacent to the Old School House within the Caleb Pike Heritage Park at 1589 Millstream Road in the District of Highlands, British Columbia. The historic place includes the building on its footprint.

Heritage Value

The Teacherage is valued for its long connection with the Old School House. The Teacherage was originally located adjacent to the original Old School House at the junction of Millstream Road and Millstream Lake Road. The building was completely unsalvageable when the Old School House was dismantled and moved in 1997 to the Caleb Pike Heritage Park. Since the Teacherage was considered integral to the heritage value associated with the Old School House, it was decided that a replica of the building should be constructed in its original position next to the reconstructed school house.

The Teacherage is valued as a direct and tangible connection to the community's educational history. The building is an exact replica of the original 10 feet by 14 feet structure built in 1920 for the school teachers in the Highlands School District. Pieces of original skirting and one board of the original siding were salvaged and incorporated into the replica construction. Although originally built 27 years after the Old School House, its design is complimentary, but less detailed than that of the school house itself.

The Teacherage is valued as an example of the community's social development representing its desire to educate its children. Before the Teacherage construction, the District's teachers boarded in the homes of local families. It is likely that the creation of housing for the teachers was an attempt to retain them, as many teachers passed through the District during the years the school was open. The teachers experienced isolation, no job security and low pay.

Source: District of Highlands Municipal Office

Character-Defining Elements

Key character-defining elements of the Teacherage include:

- Scale of the building
- Style of construction
- Horizontal lapped fir siding
- Red and white paint finish to match the Old School House
- Original location of the building beside the Old School House