Anniedale School, built in 1890, was originally located about 20 metres north of here.
It closed in 1954, when the new Anniedale Elementary school opened at 176th and Highway 1. In 1964, when the highway was built, the rear of the lot was lost to the highway project. The historic building lay vacant for nearly two decades here, before it was decided to move the school.
It was first moved in December 1975, when a local contractor named George Hoffman moved it on a flatbed truck to the site of the new Anniedale School. He did it in the snow, with people holding up the wires. If you look closely at the photo, you can see someone on the roof.
George Hoffman, an independent contractor, took a personal interest in seeing the school restored. Hoffman served as project manager, administering the funding and working with the community volunteers. Once moved, serious efforts began to restore the school to its previous state with the installation of period fixtures, an antique cast iron stove that had been found in an old shed behind the school along with period desks donated by the Penticton School Board and an original slate chalk board scavenged from a Vancouver elementary school. A basement was added to expand storage space.
The restoration was completed in 1976 and the building was turned over to the School Board. Old Anniedale school than began to serve as an historic study centre where students were given the chance to become pioneers for the day and experience what it was like to go to school at the end of the 19th century.
The School Board operated this study centre until the mid 1990s when the little school was once again abandoned and its future put in jeopardy. Concerned about the fate of this school, the Surrey Historical Society became early advocates for restoring the building and moving it to a public space where it could once again be used.
For 20 years, the Surrey Historical Society pressed to save the Anniedale building and in September 2018, the Anniedale school was moved once again to the new museum complex in Cloverdale, as part of the museum’s $15.7-million expansion project.
The school was built by Sam Edge of Hammond, BC for a total price of $750 for a complete school. It was built on one–acre of land donated by a pioneer and in remembrance the school was to be named Annie for the daughter of Elizabeth Wilhelmin Pooley. With electric light not yet prevalent, the building was designed with many windows — four east-facing for morning sun and just two facing west, to minimize afternoon glare. The school opened on July 15, 1891.
In the first year, the one-room school had thirteen pupils, ranging in age from four years old to about fifteen, and grades from one through eight. Its first teacher was Mr. Duncan J. Welsh of Milner. Students began at such a young age as numbers were important. If 8 or more students attended the Government would pay the teacher's salary but the residents would have to provide the school. Pupils came to Anniedale School from the general Port Kells area, and as far away as Latimer Road and Barnston Island.
After undergoing restoration, the 127-year old Anniedale School opened in spring 2019. However, the four windows now face south, instead of east, and the two windows face north, instead of west.
THE ANNIEDALE SCHOOL WAS LOCATED AT 18055 WILSON-TOWNLINE ROAD AKA 96 AVENUE.
The legal address for this site is: PID: 000–704-377 BLOCK 12, EXCEPT: PART ON HIGHWAY PLAN 28296; DISTRICT LOT 121 GROUP 2 NEW WESTMINSTER DISTRICT PLAN 3519 FROM APPROXIMATELY 1983 TO CROWN.
The property never sold and it’s still a little island of provincial land.