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North Cottage School
Red Deer
Other Names:
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North Cottage High School
North Red Deer Cottage School
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Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The 1911 North Cottage School is a two-storey, wood frame, four-square school house with a full length front covered porch. The school and surrounding school yard are located in historic North Red Deer known today as the neighbourhood of Riverside Meadows.
Heritage Value
North Cottage School is significant for its four square architectural style and association with the founding of North Red Deer. It exemplifies both the practicality and the aspirations of early settlers in the region.
Red Deer's earliest citizens viewed public education as a priority in developing culture and community spirit. In 1887, the first school between Calgary and Edmonton was constructed at the Crossing. In 1894, a permanent two-room brick building was constructed in the new town of Red Deer. By 1907, this structure did not meet classroom needs and a new eight-room school was erected. With the peak of the immigration boom between 1910 and 1913, classroom space once again proved to be inadequate and the Red Deer Protestant School Board decided to build two identical cottage schools on either side of the river. The North Cottage School in Red Deer was constructed in 1911 and officially opened in January 1912. The Village of North Red Deer was founded in 1911 illustrating the importance of education in early community development.
North Cottage School was built according to a standard plan developed for the Department of Education by Mr. C.A. Sharman. Actual construction was undertaken by Baird and McKenzie, of North Red Deer at a cost of 3,925.00 dollars. Like most cottage schools, the North Red Deer School was designed to serve as a temporary structure until the local school age population grew large enough to justify a larger and more permanent school. The North Cottage School consisted of two large rooms on two floors and it was initially planned to be convertible into a family residence when no longer required as a school building. The larger more permanent school was not built until 1954.
Architecturally, North Cottage School is the best example of four-square style in Red Deer. Of the two identical Cottage Schools building in Red Deer in 1911, only the North Cottage School remains and continues to operate as a school.
The Red Deer cottage schools were low-cost, wood frame buildings much like the temporary, pre-war cottage schools erected in Edmonton and Calgary. C.A. Sharman adapted the simple two-storey design to meet local requirements. The facade featured two doors: a central one to the main floor classroom, and a second one to the stairway, which led to the second floor. The Cottage School style is featured in the hipped roofs with turned wood posts, fret work, lattice screen, clapboard siding and roofed porch that ran the full length of the facade with hipped roofed. The North Red Deer School was renovated to its original condition in 1989.
Source: Parkland Community Planning Services (File No.30.11.08)
Character-Defining Elements
The character defining elements as expressed in the four square form, massing, and materials of the 1911 period of significance including:
-prominent signage in front dormer;
-pyramidal roof structure;
-full length porch with hipped roofs, fret work and turned wood posts;
-lattice screen;
-pattern and style of all windows;
-clapboard siding with corner boards;
-wooden shakes in gables;
-covered side entry.
Location
| Street Address: |
5704 - 60 Street |
| Community: |
Red Deer |
| Boundaries: |
Lot S, Plan 4596NY |
| Contributing Resources: |
Building: 1
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ATS Legal Description:
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Mer |
Rge |
Twp |
Sec |
LSD |
4
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27
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38
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21
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07
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PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):
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Plan |
Block |
Lot |
Parcel |
4596NY
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S
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Latitude/Longitude:
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Latitude |
Longitude |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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52.27998 |
-113.82458 |
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UTM Reference:
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Northing |
Easting |
Zone |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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Recognition
| Recognition Authority: |
Local Governments (AB) |
| Designation Status: |
Municipal Historic Resource |
| Date of Designation: |
2009/07/13 |
Historical Information
| Built: |
1911 to 1911 |
| Period of Significance: |
1911/01/01 |
| Theme(s): |
Building Social and Community Life : Education and Social Well-Being
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| Historic Function(s): |
Education : Primary or Secondary School
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| Current Function(s): |
Education : Primary or Secondary School
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| Architect: |
C.A. Julian Sharman
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| Builder: |
Baird & Mackenzie
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| Context: |
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Additional Information
| Object Number: |
4664-0196 |
| Designation File: |
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| Related Listing(s): |
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| Heritage Survey File: |
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| Website Link: |
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| Data Source: |
Parkland Community Planning Services, Suite 404, 4808 Ross Street, Red Deer, Alberta, T4N1X5, 403-343-3394 (FileNo:30.11.08) |
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