Description of Historic Place

The Old Koksilah School is a one-room wood-frame, simple style, rural school building. It is located in Koksilah, just off the Trans-Canada Highway, outside of the town of Duncan, B.C. Situated at the corner of Charlotte Road and Chaster Road, this historic place is confined to the two-storey school.

Heritage Value

The Old Koksilah School has historic and cultural value for representing the early public education movement, where small, one-room schoolhouses were built within walking distance of many communities throughout North America. This movement was a key element in the urban development of Canada, as communities began to shift a focus from farming to education, eventually leading to growth in infrastructure, economic development and social programs. As a relic of this process, the Old Koksilah School is linked to the earliest social and educational development in the area.

As one of few well-preserved schoolhouses left on Vancouver Island, the Old Koksilah School has historic and social value as a rare link into the cultural development of the early island farming communities. One of the oldest buildings in the area, the school is a prominent symbol of the importance early residents' put on education in the growth of their community.

Architecturally, this rural schoolhouse is representative of the large number of one-room schoolhouses built throughout North America during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This similarity adds historic and aesthetic value to the style due to its popularity throughout North America. The interior of the school has been expertly preserved, with all the original elements dating to the time of construction in excellent condition. The building's prominent location, at both an intersection and just off a major highway, make it a significant historical landmark to the community.

The Old Koksilah School was built in 1914 by Robert Mclay after a fire claimed the original schoolhouse. The one-room schoolhouse movement began to deteriorate during the mid-twentieth century as transportation improved and larger community public schools became the norm. As a result, the Old Koksilah School was closed in 1964. The school was restored and re-opened in 1995 as the Old Koksilah School Museum, in an effort to preserve the heritage of the original Koksilah community and help educate those on Canadian life in the early twentieth century.

SOURCE: Cowichan Valley Regional District, Planning and Development Department

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Old Koksilah School include its:
- cultural link to the public education movement
- current use as an educational tool for the community
- relationship with Koksilah's community development
- symbolization of ideals that were important to the community
- visible location on a corner and off a highway
- historical integrity of the interior including the wainscoting, wood floors, blackboards, and windows
- historic evidence of use
- simple massing, traditional rectangular form, and elevated gabled entrance