Patrimoine-ascott-heritage Unveils Interpretation Panel, Listening Station and Granite Historical Plaque
On Saturday, June 16, at 2:00 p.m., Patrimoine-ascott-heritage will be unveiling a new Virtual Interpretation Panel which covers a march through time of over two centuries with voice animation focusing on the schoolhouse. The lively audio track will have two push buttons, one for French and one for English listeners. A bilingual granite plaque will also be unveiled containing further historical data detailing the early years of the Hyatt Settlement.
The Visual Interpretation Panel unveiled in 2010 tells fascinating stories of early settlers in the area through images, and carries bilingual text. These stories are brought to life using the historical 1864 Whitcher Map as a background to highlight local sights such as churches, covered bridges, schools, and early Hyatt Family genealogy. These two panels along with the plaque located outside, are available 24/7.
The area around Milby was originally named the Hyatt Settlement. It was ideally situated where the Ascot and Moe Rivers converge and was later renamed Wilson Mills. It is now known as Milby and is part of the rural Municipality of Waterville.
These two interpretation panels complement the restored Little Hyatt Oneroom Schoolhouse which dates back to the early 1800s. The schoolhouse, known as District #2, formerly under the Township of Ascott, is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the area and is located near the St.barnabas Anglican Church. The church itself was built in 1874 and the Milby Covered Bridge was built a year earlier, in 1873. It is now referred to as an “Interpretive Centre”.
The restored Little Hyatt One-room Schoolhouse has been of great interest to both visiting tourists and to descendants of these early families. It has also drawn interest from students studying at Bishop’s University completing their Bachelor of Education. Students visiting the schoolhouse learn about the life of a teacher and students in a typical oneroom schoolhouse. Various differences and similarities are noted, such as having multiple grades in one classroom and sometimes being responsible for fetching firewood and water along with preparing lunch for the students. These aspiring teachers take the time to appreciate how society and education has changed over the years, sparking discussions centering on religion in schools, as well as whether penmanship still holds a necessary place in the classroom. An example of beautiful penmanship is on display on some of the desks in the classroom dating back to the 1850’s.
These projects were developed and produced by Patrimoine-ascott-heritage, a charitable non-profit organization with financial support from a wide range of local partners and private donations.