Formal schooling was introduced into Acadia by Capuchin friars at La Have in 1633. Later on, most of the education to be had in Acadian Settlements consisted of instruction from the catechism by the parish priest on Sundays and feast days.
Not many buildings had been constructed for this purpose and the few existing schools were taught in churches, meeting houses, and private homes. Today, the countryside in Minudie is a quiet and serene setting of what once used to be a center for a thriving commercial agricultural and industrial enterprise.
In the early 1840′s, Amos Seaman built a school for his children and those of his tenants. Amos was a zealot where education was concerned, having lacked formal schooling himself. After their marriage, his wife, Jane, taught him to read and write. All their sons were sent to college and their daughters to American finishing schools.
The Minudie school house design resembles the typical one room school house plan. The school room dimensions are about 24 x 28 ft. with a ten foot post. There are three windows each side and a single door in the end gable with one window on either side of it, a design which was to remain virtually unaltered for seventy years. The school sits between two churches. The bells for both churches and the school were brought from Ireland in 1848. Due to the buildings close proximities, each bell was a different size and had its own distinct tone, so the residents could distinguish between all three. It is believed that, at this time, the bell tower was an addition to the original structure of the school, which incorporated a glazed ventilation hatch.
The school closed in 1962, reopening as a museum in 1973. The building contains: a history of Minudie from the fishing industry to the grindstone quarries, a collection of photos and documents commemorating the life and achievements of Amos Peck Seaman (known locally as the “Grindstone King”), genealogy on the Seamans and other local families, and all the original desks and pot belly stove. It also contains an important artifact, an aboiteau, from the period of the Acadians prior to 1755.
