History Of the Bedeque Schoolhouse

George Bowman and Melissa Willoughby fulfilled their dream of renovating a 19th-century schoolhouse when they purchased this gem of a building in Bedeque, PE.

The Bedeque schoolhouse was once a school for many children in Bedeque, PE. It was built in 1800's to assist children with their education needs on the island. As you visit Prince Edward Island, you will see a few smaller schools in the communities that are two-room schools located throughout the island. 

Small schoolhouses began to spring up in Bedeque and outlying districts. For the most part, the schools were one or two-room structures where a single teacher provided instruction to every grade. Basic subjects-- the 3 'R's-- were the emphasis of the curriculum, and teachers taught their pupils literacy through recitation and penmanship exercises. In 1876, officials tried to ensure that children across the Island received the same education level by adopting uniform textbooks. Another way in which the Department of Education kept an eye on school standards was through school fairs, where local children prepared speeches or compositions, and the winners were sent to an Island-wide competition held in Charlottetown.

Even so, enforcing educational standards was a bit of a logistical impossibility on the Island. There were hundreds of schools spread across the countryside, and the running of these buildings was very much at the discretion of the local community, who often had to donate land for the school and hire their own teacher. 

Well into the twentieth century, the first public health nurse on P.E.I., Mona Wilson, wrote about her difficulties finding some schools. She recalls how she would have to drive to the highest point in the surrounding countryside and then look for the tell-tale smoke from the pot-bellied stove.