Description of Historic Place

Gregherd School Site is a Municipal Heritage Property located on 0.4 hectares, 18 km northeast of the town of Southey in the Rural Municipality of Cupar. The tree-lined country school yard features a stone cairn, walking plow statue, flagpole and school. The property also features a non-contributing wood-frame building used as a granary.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of Gregherd School Site lies in its association with Bobby Greg, an early resident who lent his name to the surrounding district and the school. Bobby Greg lived in a small dugout shack near what was to become the school yard in the 1890s, a decade before farming was established in the area,. His herd of cattle was a familiar site in the district. When a school was built across the road from his dugout in 1914, the name “Gregherd” was a natural choice for the new building.

The heritage value of Gregherd School Site also rests in its role as a country school yard. Gregherd School District Number 3142 was organized in 1914, and by April a one-room schoolhouse was constructed. This school operated for over forty years, and even after the school closed in 1957, the tree-lined school yard was the site of numerous community picnics and gatherings.

The heritage value of Gregherd School Site resides in its use as a place of commemoration and gathering. In 1996 a flagpole, stone cairn and walking plow statue were erected to honour the pioneers and many students and teachers who were associated with Gregherd School.

Source:

RM of Cupar No. 218 Bylaw No. 1/96.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of Gregherd School Site lies in the following character-defining elements:
-those features honouring the pioneers, students and teachers of Gregherd School District, including the stone cairn, flagpole and walking plow statue;
-those elements that physically define the boundaries of the former school yard, such as the shelterbelt, one side of which grows along the road.