Little Hyatt One-room Schoolhouse: looking back and reaching out
Located at 2185, Mcvety road in the hamlet of Milby, the Little Hyatt One-room Schoolhouse has made a name for itself over the years through the hard work of Patrimoine-ascott-heritage. After closing its doors in 1948, the schoolhouse passed through many hands before landing in those of the Little Forks Branch of the United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada. They established a non-profit organization and decided to restore this important piece of the area’s history. After 24 years of hard work, the majority of the renovations are now completed but Patrimoine-ascott-heritage is still facing some challenges. Now, they are reaching out to the community for their support.
While Bev Loomis, President of the Little Forks Branch of the United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada told The Record they aren’t ready to let another group take over the schoolhouse just yet, getting more people interested in Patrimoine-ascott-heritage and the schoolhouse is a major issue the organization has been facing over the last couple of years. She said they are looking for support whether in the form of volunteer work, collaborations, donations, or membership.
“We’re getting tired. Our active members have passed away and the young people aren’t interested except for the odd one. We just need some people behind us. They don’t need to join the Empire Loyalists, they can join Patrimoine-ascott-heritage for five dollars. The money can only go so far, we have to get more people interested, that’s the bottom line. We don’t want to see all of our efforts lost in saving this schoolhouse.”
The schoolhouse’s story reaches back to the early pioneers that made their way from the United States to Lower Canada following the American Revolution; more particularly the Hyatt family.
Abraham Hyatt Senior, a schoolteacher, and his six sons, Gilbert, Cornelius, Joseph, Isaac, Jacob, and Charles, were all granted land when the Eastern Townships was opened for settlement in 1792 by Lieutenant-governor Alured Clarke.
Gilbert Hyatt, who led the surveying of the area, was awarded the Township of Ascott on June 20th, 1792. He was accompanied by 40 associates, many of whom settled in the area.
Gilbert and his family first settled near the Coaticook and Massawippi Rivers in 1793. There he cleared the land and built a log house and a few barns before establishing a sawmill and a grist mill in 1796 near the St. Francis and Magog Rivers.
His brother, Cornelius Hyatt, was granted 1,200 acres by the Crown and settled with his family near the Moe and Salmon Rivers in 1796, where he also established sawmill and a grist mill.
This area became known as the Hyatt Settlement.
When Abraham Senior’s lands were divided, Cornelius gained more land, including Lot.1, Range 4, where the Little
Hyatt One-room Schoolhouse had been built.
“Cornelius Hyatt owned the land, but he eventually sold it to his daughter Aurilla,” explained Bev Loomis, President of the Little Forks Branch of the United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada. “In the deed of sale, it says ‘with the exception of one acre which is hereby reserved for a schoolhouse which is actually built thereon.’ He was making note that the schoolhouse was there.”
This deed of sale dates back to November 22, 1822, but with settlers arriving to the area over 20 years before that, it is believed that the schoolhouse could date back as early as 1810 and may have been built by Cornelius himself.
The schoolhouse served as an active educational institution up until 1948.
“The school was closed in 1948 and then the Milby Women’s Institute took over,” Loomis said. “They eventually sold it to the Lennoxville-ascot Heritage Museum Society and they had it for six years until they found that there was a lack of interest,” she continued, adding that the schoolhouse also served for a time as a house of worship.
Looking for another group to take the schoolhouse under their wing, LAHMS approached the United Empire Loyalists.
“It was built by a Loyalist so they thought they would give it to us,” Loomis said.
The Little Forks Branch took over the schoolhouse in 1994 and they have been working to preserve the building ever since.
“One of our mandates is to preserve historical buildings, sites, monuments, anything related to history; and that’s what we have been trying to do,” the president explained.
The group established a non-profit organization, known as Patrimoine-ascott-heritage, to receive funding for the project but not without some obstacles along the way. Beginning with the original location of the schoolhouse.
“We either had to move the schoolhouse or tear it down because it was halfway in the ditch on the lot where it was located.”
After raising funds and finding a new piece of land to carry out their renovations, they found out the new lot was officially designated as green space, which became the next hurdle.
“Because it was a green space, we had to meet with the Protection du Territoire Agricole du Quebec in order to move it,” Loomis said, adding that the group was finally granted permission to use the land in October of 1995.
Land was one thing, but the condition of the building was another. A years-long mission to restore the building and bring the history of the schoolhouse and the Milby area back to life followed, including the work to move the building, build a new foundation and a downstairs room for archives or a gathering space, and stripping the building of years of paint to show off its historical value.
“As we got the building done in 2002, that’s when we got a never-ending donation of things,” the president recalled. “We had to build a shed to store all of this stuff.”
In 2010, Patrimoine-ascott-heritage put up their first bilingual interpretation panel on the site of the schoolhouse. “This panel shows the history of the churches, schools, mills, and covered bridges of the area.” A second interpretation panel was added in 2018 that tells the history of the schoolhouse and how the area was surveyed. Bev took on the bulk of the research to create these panels by searching through the local archives in Sherbrooke.
After two decades of hard work, one of the biggest challenges facing Patrimoine-ascott-heritage now is trying to get signs put up showing where the schoolhouse is located.
“We have to get signs up, that’s our biggest battle right now,” emphasized Bev. “People just don’t know where it is. We are offering all kinds of things to attract people, but they need to be able to find us.” This hasn’t been easy for the organization to achieve, due to the financial pressure of having to pay an annual fee to have those signs.
Anyone looking to lend a hand to support Patrimoine-ascott-heritage in continuing to carry out their work can contact Bev Loomis at (819) 346-6746 for more information regarding membership, donations, and volunteer work.