S.S. 2, Walpole School/Wilson Pugsley Macdonald Memorial School Museum, Heritage school museum in Walpole, Canada.
The S.S. 2 schoolhouse is a preserved one-room classroom from early 20th century rural Ontario with original furnishings and teaching supplies on display. The space shows how students of different ages shared one classroom and one teacher throughout their studies.
Constructed in 1872, the schoolhouse served as an active educational facility for nearly a century until closing in 1966. It represents the rural school system that Ontario developed to educate children across farming communities.
The classroom displays the tools children used daily: slate boards, ink bottles, and pen nibs arranged as they would have been during lessons. Walking through the space shows how teaching required different methods and materials than classrooms use today.
The museum is located in Selkirk along Rainham Road and welcomes visitors during the warmer months from March through December. Entry is free and the single room is easy to navigate, making it accessible for visitors of all abilities.
Wilson Pugsley MacDonald, after whom the museum is named, was a poet who wrote about prairie landscapes and rural Canadian life. His literary works give the site a connection to early Canadian writing that goes beyond typical school history.
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