|
Ruthenia School
Pakan, Near
Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The Ruthenia School is a 1924, one-storey, one-room rural school. It is covered by a hip roof on three sides and features a small, enclosed front entry porch with a gabled hip roof. It is located on the northern boundary in the eastern Ukrainian area of the Victoria District National Historic Site, specifically, in the southeast corner of SW-6-59-16-W4, within a subdivided grassed yard surrounded by mature trees.
Heritage Value
The Ruthenia School is significant for its association with the development of rural schools and creating community in the region; in its design and construction as a one-room rural school; and as an important landmark in the district.
This building was constructed in 1924 by the Ruthenia School District to provide additional classroom space after their 1913 school, at a different location, exceeded its student capacity. After 1950, the Farmers’ Union of Alberta Local (F.U.A.) utilized the building for meetings and in order to purchase the building, the members of the F.U.A. formed the Ruthenian Community Center organization, where it was used for various local groups, bingos, picnics, served as a polling station, and a location for dances featuring local musicians. It operated until 1980, when the remaining six members of the Ruthenian Community Center agreed to dissolve the organization, after which it was sold. The building had served as a room for senior students (while a previous Ruthenia School I served junior students) for twenty-six years and then a community center for another thirty years.
The Ruthenia School is an example of an early 1920s, multi-level, rural one-room school building featuring a gabled hip entry roof intersecting with the main roof. The five large nine-over-nine double hung wood windows provide for large fenestration openings for the entry of light commonly evident in such rural schools throughout the region. The internal configuration flows from two entries into a large classroom containing a wood floor, panel walls and wood slat ceiling, with blackboards covering two walls. A drum-shaped wood stove just inside the classroom was the only source of heat. Its modified usage over several decades demonstrates its importance to rural residents as a community facility. It also stands as a lasting landmark of the Ruthenia School District.
Character-Defining Elements
The character-defining elements of the Ruthenia School include its:
Exterior
-Form, massing, and scale;
-Gabled-hip roof over the entry, and a medium-pitch hip roof on remaining three sides;
-Cedar shingles;
-One-storey structure on concrete foundation, with clapboard siding, and corner boards;
-Five large nine-over-nine, double-hung windows, with common trim in between on the west side;
-Six-pane, fixed sidelight windows on both sides of porch entry;
-Six-over-six, double-hung windows on both sides of the porch; and
-Two fixed, six-pane windows on the east side.
Interior
-Two entries from enclosed porch into large one-room classroom;
-Wooden tongue-in-groove floor;
-Wood-slat ceiling; and
-Long blackboards covering north and east classroom walls.
Location
| Street Address: |
16544 Township Road 590 |
| Community: |
Pakan, Near |
| Boundaries: |
Pt. SW 6-59-16-W4 |
| Contributing Resources: |
Buildings: 1
|
ATS Legal Description:
|
Mer |
Rge |
Twp |
Sec |
LSD |
4
|
16
|
59
|
6
|
|
PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):
Latitude/Longitude:
|
Latitude |
Longitude |
CDT |
Datum Type |
|
54.064477 |
-112.38964 |
GPS |
NAD83 |
UTM Reference:
|
Northing |
Easting |
Zone |
CDT |
Datum Type |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recognition
| Recognition Authority: |
Local Governments (AB) |
| Designation Status: |
Municipal Historic Resource |
| Date of Designation: |
2020/04/30 |
Historical Information
| Built: |
1924 to 1924 |
| Period of Significance: |
1924 to 1980 |
| Theme(s): |
Building Social and Community Life : Community Organizations
Building Social and Community Life : Education and Social Well-Being
Governing Canada : Government and Institutions
Peopling the Land : Settlement
|
| Historic Function(s): |
Education : One-Room School
|
| Current Function(s): |
|
| Architect: |
|
| Builder: |
|
| Context: |
|
|
|
Additional Information
| Object Number: |
4664-0443 |
| Designation File: |
|
| Related Listing(s): |
|
| Heritage Survey File: |
|
| Website Link: |
www.smokylakecounty.ab.ca |
| Data Source: |
|
|