Saltese School

Built in 1893, Saltese School began as a simple log building built on land owned by early pioneer Daniel Courchaine. Grades one through eight were educated in this one-room schoolhouse. Most of the students were children of the first settlers of the area and later from farming and logging families.

In 1900, the building was rebuilt as the framed white building that remains today. The school hosted events other than the daily education of the youth. In the 1890s, the Lone Fir and Saltese Literary Association held regular debates in the school. Comprised of many prominent citizens, like members of the Courchaine family, the group would pose a new question for each meeting. They would then hold a lively debate on it. The questions ranged from the serious, "Should men be hired as teachers?" to the silly, "Which weighs more, 100 pounds of feathers or 100 pounds of steel?" Careful minutes were taken of each session.

The school graduated from outhouses to chemical toilets in 1914 and a former student, William Schoepke, built a barn out of the wood from the old outhouses. At a reunion in 1986, Schoepke recalled that, "When it rained, the horses almost drowned because it leaked so bad."

The school closed in 1942 and students were sent to Vera School instead. Life wasn't over for Saltese School, however. The building became the home of the Greenacres Grange 1055 for many years.

Today, a large sign in the yard proclaims it is going to become a "Green Single Family Residence." Until then, the Saltese School stands empty, boarded up, patiently waiting for the next stage in its life.