Description of Historic Place

Verona School, completed in 1918, is a small wood-frame building on a schoolyard property surrounded by crop and hay land in the Coulter area. The municipal designation applies to the one-storey building and its grounds.

Heritage Value

Verona School is a fine example of the compact massing and efficient one-room-school layouts offered by standard Manitoba Department of Education designs in the early 1900s. Erected by George Gourley to replace an earlier (1885) structure, the sturdy building represents the second generation of rural schoolhouse design, a bungalow style enhanced by quality materials and tasteful finishes. Interior features such as large cloakrooms, a full high-ceilinged basement with a cistern and indoor washroom, and a formal entrance vestibule contributed both to functionality and comfort. The building, with its square footprint and hipped roof, set within a readily identifiable schoolyard, continues to serve the Coulter area as a community centre and a welcome link with the past.

Source: Rural Municipality of Arthur By-law No. 1732, August 11, 2000

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Verona School site include:
- its location amid agricultural fields in the Coulter area, with the building set on spacious grounds, removed from the grid road and facing north

Key exterior elements that define the building's domestic proportions and schoolhouse character include:
- its square massing, of wood-frame construction and horizontal siding, with an exceptionally high concrete basement, a hipped roof pierced at the front by a tall brick chimney and a front porch
- the characteristic single row of sash windows on one wall (south), supplemented by pairs of tall rectangular openings in the north corners of the east and west sides, single front windows and large basement openings, most notably on the south side; all with wooden sills and surrounds
- the panelled wood entrance door with sidelights and plain surrounds topped by a shallow pediment

Key elements that define the school's functional interior design and character include:
- the front-entrance porch with a formal vestibule offering a wide stairway up to the classroom and a staircase to the basement
- the roomy classroom with two large corner cloakroom areas
- the well-lit basement with concrete walls, high ceilings, cistern and washroom
- the wood doors and generous trim throughout, notable on the large corner windows, staircases, cabinets and wainscotting
- details and fixtures such as the metal registers, brick chimney, door and window hardware, etc.