A provincial plaque at the Red Brick School House in Elgin commemorates this architecturally elaborate two-room school, which opened in 1887. The school is a very early example of the late 19th century campaign to improve Ontario’s system of public education through the construction of better buildings. It also illustrates that Elgin was a forward looking community, erecting this building to showcase its local pride and commitment to progress through education.

Plaque Text
Opened in 1887, this charming two-room brick school, built by local contractor Fred Taber, replaced a smaller wood-frame building. School Section No. 5 in South Crosby is a very early example of the late 19th century campaign to improve Ontario's system of public education through the construction of better buildings. Committed to fostering social, moral and economic progress through formal classroom instruction, the province's Department of Education encouraged late Victorian era school boards to erect larger, more sophisticated schools. Although local officials were often reluctant to raise the taxes necessary to finance such expensive departmental initiatives, some forward-looking communities, such as Elgin, sponsored the construction of architecturally elaborate schools, which showcased their local pride and commitment to progress through education.