The Craigflower Schoolhouse was constructed with lumber obtained from a steam-powered sawmill at the Hudson’s Bay Company’s Craigflower Farm. Designed with a schoolroom and accommodation for the teacher and his family on the main floor and several rooms for boarders on the second floor, it served children from the farm and nearby settlements. The building was also used for church meetings and public gatherings. After the schoolhouse ceased operations in 1911, the building quickly fell into disrepair. In 1927, it was acquired and restored by the Native Sons and Native Daughters of British Columbia and preserved as a museum. Its well-preserved interior and exterior illustrate architectural and construction practices associated with the transition from fur trade to settlement on the West Coast, and convey the importance attached to education during the early stages of European settlement in Western Canada.
Today the Schoolhouse is leased and managed by the Hallmark Heritage Society and is used for community meetings, Society offices and for the storage of the Society’s files on over 9,000 historic buildings in the Greater Victoria area.
