Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village adds Cyr Schoolhouse to its collection

Cyr Schoolhouse readied to move
C. Davis photo

Toni Lucas

King's Restaurant was destroyed in a fire late on Feb 7, 2012.  Over the years the original structure has been added to, and two of these additions received little to no damage during the blaze.  One of the undamaged buildings included what was originally the Cyr Schoolhouse.  The schoolhouse was  added in the 1950's to the Betterway Store, owned by John Green, where it has been attached to the site until recently.


On Monday, October 29, Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village (KBPV), moved the historic Cyr Schoolhouse onto the museum grounds.   This required a variety of permits, hours of volunteer time, co-operation from Fortis, Shaw, and the labour of J-Bee'z Contracting to move it from certain demolition to re-position it as a useful and beautiful addition to the KBPV grounds.  Now sitting adjacent to the Ward Cabin, this hidden historical treasure will act as an educational center for future generations.

KBPV President Colleen Cyr was thrilled with the acquisition of the schoolhouse.  "It still is perfectly preserved, behind drywall and tin," she stated, referring to the modern additions covering the schoolhouse.  "It has its original wood floors and ceilings."

Cyr School enroute to KBPV
T. Lucas photo

Chronicles of the Cyr School

Farley S. Wuth, Curator, Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village

The Cyr School was one of thirty-nine country schools established in the 1890s and early 1900s which are now part of Pincher Creek’s commercial trading area.  It was one of only three schools moved into town following consolidation, realizing a second life for the structure as a commercial endeavour.

Enrollment at the Cyr School District Number 2018 dated back to August 1909.  It saw classes taught there for nearly forty years, the last school year being 1946-47.  It was located on the northeast quarter of S2 T5 R30 W4th, land eight miles south of Pincher Creek that was formerly owned by pioneer Mac Hebert.  Of all the local rural schools, it had the distinction of being located on the highest elevation at over 5,000 feet.  For most of its history, teachers at the Cyr School boarded at neighbouring ranches, the nearby Sam Levesques often taking on that role.  Only for one term, in 1930-31, was a teacherage moved in on skids to the school.  Mrs. Louis Sorge was the teacher that year, and the teacherage was returned to the family farm the next year.  A stable where the students housed their horses adorned the property.  A small structure that could accommodate up to half a dozen horses, the stable did not have a loft but was remembered by at least one student for its open rafters which provided an excellent hiding spot for youngsters wishing to avoid attending classes.  Following the closure of the school, the teacherage became part of the Doug Koehn farm and Sam Levesque acquired the barn.

A coal burning pot belly stove heated the school during much of its history.

Former students remembered interesting times at the Cyr School including many an encounter with skunks in the 1930s.  Students were known for teasing, in a friendly fashion, tourists who passed by the school’s barn on the nearby road.

In the early 1950s, just a few years after its closure, the Cyr School was moved into Pincher Creek by Johnny Green who had re-located his Betterway Store to the former Upton Store at 696 Main Street.  His move was a result of the December 1950 Scott Block fire where his business had previously been located.  Contractors W. A. Cook and Sons transported the former school building into town.  The structure, still sporting its original hardwood floors and since protected by a new metal exterior, was utilized as a rear cold storage building, attached to the street-facing building via a breezeway.  When the former grocery store was converted to a series of restaurants following Green’s 1976 retirement, the services of this coveted cooler was retained.  Disaster struck the front building in 2012 when it was extensively damaged by fire yet history once again spared the former country school.  On Monday, 29th October of this year, it was moved onto the grounds of the Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village where its educational heritage continues to be preserved.

Sources for the chronicles of the Cyr School included the publication 'Unfolding the Pages' and historical interviews with some of the school’s former students.

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