The Thorold Heritage Committee is on a roll.
After preserving several historical homes last year, the committee is now looking to designate St. Johns Common School at the intersection of Orchard Hill Road and Hollow Road.
The schoolhouse was built in 1804 and it was the first non-denominational free school in Upper Canada.
After 40 years, the school was closed, but in 1973 the Niagara South Board of Education restored the building and to this day it is still used for educational purposes.
The building is owned by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA), so there are a few hurdles that need to be cleared before the designation can move forward.
“[NPCA] staff has already approved the designation,” said Heritage Committee chair Anna O’Hare, during a meeting last week. “However, it’s the board that needs to give final approval. The process is a little bit more complicated than with a private property. It involves legal issues and assurances on their part that their work plan won’t be disrupted by this procedure.”
NPCA staff is preparing a report to put forward to their board members, who will then get to vote whether or not to move forward with the designation.
If they approve it, local historian Sarah King Head will write up a report, identifying the heritage qualities of the site.
“Once that is done, [the board] will get to review the report and especially the wording in the evaluation section,” said O’Hare. “They might ask for small revisions to make sure that their activities and projects are not disrupted by anything caused by a designation.”
Since the schoolhouse is still used as an educational site, there needs to be enough leeway for the NPCA to do repairs to the property, without having to consult the Thorold Heritage Committee.
“The site is an educational site still today and they cannot wait for months possibly and not have their activities for kids that come there or have the site be unsafe,” said O’Hare.
The Heritage Committee is also exploring the feasibility of including the nearby foundations of the burnt down St. Johns Mill in the scope of the designation.
Since there are many moving parts to the process, it might take a while before the committee will get to designate the site.
CLARIFICATION: The NPCA would like "to clarify that we are still in discussions with the Heritage Committee, and there’s a bit more work to do before we can move forward." They also like to clarify that it is up to the City of Thorold to approve the designation, as is standard with all heritage designations in the City of Thorold.