Description of Historic Place

Northern Beauty School is a Municipal Heritage Property located within the Rural Municipality of Beaver River No. 622, on Highway 55 in the Hamlet of Golden Ridge. The 0.8 hectares property features a one-storey, wood-frame, one-room building constructed in 1947.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Northern Beauty School lies in with its association with the education of local residents. The Northern Beauty School District No. 4662 was first formed in 1932, and in 1947, they replaced the original log school and built this building in Hamlet of Golden Ridge. The new school served as the centre for education of local children until 1962 when the one-room school was closed and local children were bused into nearby Goodsoil.

The heritage value of the property also lies in its status as a place of social gathering. As a school, the property hosted a myriad of local activities, including meetings, sports days, and fundraisers, which gave the property a prominent role in the social life of the area. When the school closed, local residents purchased the property and established a co-operative hall and continue use the property for social functions.

The heritage value of the property also lies in its representation of traditional, one-room school architecture from the middle of the twentieth century. Typical of the style of other one-room schools, the building features modest building materials and boasts a utilitarian design. These features can be observed in its vernacular style, wood-frame construction and use of wood siding, rectangular form, one-room interior space and window wall.

Source:
Rural Municipality of Beaver River No. 622 Bylaw 02-99.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the Northern Beauty School resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements that reflect the property’s association with education, including its location on its original site, the interior blackboard and the east elevation window wall;
-those elements that reflect the property’s status as a place of social gathering, including its large interior open space;
-those elements that reflect the property’s representation of mid-twentieth century, one-room school architecture, including its wood-frame construction, wood siding, rectangular form, gable roof, and regular massing.