Mount Hanley School House Museum

Tucked away in a tiny village on the North Mountain is the Mount Hanley Schoolhouse Museum.

It is definitely worth a Sunday afternoon drive to go and see it.

The Story of the Schoolhouse

The schoolhouse was built in 1850 and operated as a one-room schoolhouse for the next 110 years, when in the 1960s, students were sent to high school down the mountain.

When the school closed, our friend’s parents, who lived next door, purchased the property. They kept it in tact, virtually as it was on the last day of school. Later the building was turned over to a community group who opened the schoolhouse as a museum for the public.

A great history of the schoolhouse can be found here.

Famous Pupils

Over the 110 years of operation, many students went through its doors, but two stand out.

Joshua Slocum

Joshua Slocum was the first man to sail solo around the world. He wrote about his epic journey in a book in 1899 called Sailing Alone Around the World.

Joshua lived in Mount Hanley and attended this school until he was about 8 years old, after which he moved to Brier Island.

You can learn more about Joshua when you go to the Hall’s Harbour Ghost walk!

In the museum, there is a section dedicated to Joshua Slocum where you can learn more about his ventures on the schooner the Spray.

Clara Belle Marshall

Clara Belle Marshall went to Mount Hanley schoolhouse in the 1880s and later went on to become the first woman to graduate from Acadia University in 1884.

There is also a display about Clara Belle Marshall at the Schoolhouse museum.

The Exhibits

The main room of the schoolhouse is still set up like a classroom. You can sit in the desks, look at the text books the students used, see the woodstove that kept them warm, and imagine life in a one-room schoolhouse!

In the back room, which used to be where the wood was stored for the schoolhouse stove, there are so many interesting historical artifacts.

Each is labeled with explanations. It is all so well organized, and there is an interesting variety of things to see!

Hours and Admission

Admission to the museum is by free-will donation. Please be generous. This is how museums like this can remain open.

The Mount Hanley Museum is open on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays during the summer months and by appointment at other times.

Directions

To get to the Mount Hanley Schoolhouse Museum take exit 18 at Middleton off the 101. Follow the signs to the right towards Mount Hanley towards the North Mountain.

The schoolhouse is located in Mount Hanley, on the North Mountain of Nova Scotia about nine kilometers northwest of Middleton. It sits on the corner of the Mount Hanley road, (which first came up the mountain from the valley in 1784) and the Brown Road.