Description of Historic Place

The Fairbridge Farm Schoolhouse is a one-storey wood frame building with a full-width covered porch entrance. The schoolhouse is located in the historic Fairbridge Farm park-style subdivision, in Cowichan Station, British Columbia. It is one of two historic buildings located on this large lot. This historic place is specific to the building footprint.

Heritage Value

The Fairbridge Farm Schoolhouse is valued for its representation of the early development of Cowichan Station. The school building was built, and is currently located on, the first farmstead of Cowichan Station. As such, there is value in the school's association with the early settlers and settlement patterns of the Cowichan Valley.

Built in 1885, the Fairbridge Farm Schoolhouse is one of the oldest buildings in the Cowichan Valley and reported to be the oldest framed building north of the Malahat. As most of the original settler buildings have been torn down, the schoolhouse, at 130 years old, has great significance to the Cowichan Valley. The schoolhouse marks the beginning of development in the northern island area, from the Cowichan Valley to Port Hardy.

The schoolhouse was built on James Mearns' farm, the first homestead in the Cowichan Station area. Mearns had arrived in the Cowichan Valley in 1862 aboard the H.M.S Hecate, with the first 100 immigrant settlers of the Cowichan Valley. The schoolhouse's association with one of the first settlers in the Cowichan Valley is an invaluable link to both the origin of the area's development and to one of the Cowichan Valley's first pioneer families.

After its closure as a school in 1896, the schoolhouse was used as a residence for farm managers and farm herdsmen. The Fairbridge Society, a philanthropic society famous for its emigration scheme, bought the property the schoolhouse was located on in 1935 and continued the building's use as a residence for the farm workers. As the Fairbridge Society only built one farm school in Canada, the schoolhouse's association with the internationally-renowned society is of great historic value.

The Fairbridge Farm Schoolhouse is a notable representation of a significant stage in the development of the Cowichan Valley. As the oldest remaining school in the area, it illustrates the introduction of what were considered 'luxury' services to the Cowichan Valley. At the time this school was built, the community of Cowichan Station was only just beginning to develop.

Source: Cowichan Valley Regional District, Planning and Development Department

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Fairbridge Farm Schoolhouse include:
- The school's location on the first farmstead of Cowichan Station
- The building's simple massing and traditional wood-framed rectangular form
- The building's wood-framed windows and low-hanging roof
- The open surrounding area and visibility of the school building
- Its current use as a community meeting place