Place Description
The former Lower Bedeque School is a wood shingled restored school house which now serves as a museum in the rural community of Lower Bedeque, PEI. The registration includes the footprint of the building.
Why is this place important?
The former Lower Bedeque School is valued as a well preserved representation of a rural school house in PEI in the late 19th Century and for its association with the famed author, Lucy Maud Montgomery, who taught at the school in 1896-97.
The building was constructed in 1886 by the local community. It replaced an earlier structure which had existed since 1840. The school was operational until 1961, when the consolidation of schools meant it was no longer needed. The structure gradually fell into decay from disuse until the 1980s when a local heritage preservation group, the Friends of Lucy Maud Montgomery School in Lower Bedeque, formed. With the assistance of volunteers, government funds, and donations of artifacts, the plan to restore the building began in 1989. Today, it is part of the Community Museums Association of Prince Edward Island.
Source: PEI Heritage Advisory Committee Files
Special Characteristics
The heritage value of the building is shown in these character-defining elements:
- the simple vernacular construction of wood shingle cladding; gabled roof; eave returns; and central chimney
- the small entry porch at the front of the building with its transom light door and gabled roof with eave returns
- the pair of four over four windows on each wall of the building's side elevations
- the restored interior of artifacts featuring: students' desks, a central stove, blackboard, etc.
Other character-defining elements include:
- the location of the school in the rural setting of Lower Bedeque, PEI
