by Sylene Argent
A group of local enthusiasts are working to form a “Heritage Colchester” committee, which has started the process of creating a plan for the 1881 Colchester Schoolhouse. The group also intends to look after other heritage matters in the small hamlet that has a rich history extending well beyond the formation of Canada.
During the Essex Municipal Heritage Committee meeting, held virtually on the evening of Thursday, January 28, Perry Basden, an individual organizing the Heritage Colchester committee, spoke of the group’s progress.
Basden has spoken to Essex Council and to the Essex Municipal Heritage Committee in the recent past, in favour of keeping the Colchester Schoolhouse a public entity and forming the committee he is now creating to look after the facility.
Essex Council declared the Colchester Schoolhouse as surplus at the December 7, 2020 meeting. Essex Council ended up asking the potential developers, who wish to restore the Schoolhouse and add 14 cottages to the property, to hit the pause button on the possible sale of the Colchester Schoolhouse at the January 18 meeting. The request was to ask the proponents to extend the deadline for Council to pass bylaws, in regards to the potential sale, from the end of January to March 15.
Heritage Colchester, Basden said, is an unformed group. The name was selected to coincide with Heritage Essex, which operates the historic Essex Railway Station. Originally, the group had been dubbed “Friends of Colchester Schoolhouse.”
Naming the group “Heritage Colchester,” will allow the group to look after other matters of historical interest in that area, Basden said. The original name may limit the group to its scope of support to one building.
Basden said there is a big area, in the corner of Sullivan Street and Bagot Street in Colchester, that he believes could be considered as an early history heritage area for the whole town, as it is home to not only the 1881 Colchester Schoolhouse, but also historic Christ Church. He would like the area to be signed to mark the historical significance.
Through Heritage Colchester, Basden said a few subcommittees have been set-up to look at potential sources of funding, through government grants or private institutions, and possible uses for the Colchester Schoolhouse that will generate ongoing income and other uses for the property.
The group, he said, is trying to move forward, so if members are given the go-ahead, “We will be ready to run with it.”
The group has been in contact with the Ontario Historical Society to look into becoming incorporated. It is also developed its constitution, mission statement, and bylaws, which are up for final amendments. It has hosted a few organizational meetings as a group, with participation from 15-20 individuals, who will form the core group.
Basden said they have received communications from people from all over, including from Toronto, the Bruce Peninsula, Ohio, Michigan, Vancouver, Colorado, New Hampshire, and even Japan. “All these people are involved and want to be involved with the organization. They also have a direct connection to Colchester, whether they lived here as residents or are related to residents in the area. There has been a wide-spread interest, which really surprised me.”
The group, he said, has developed an outlined plan and has been in contact with the Town of Essex, with requests for information in regards to what improvement have been completed on the Colchester Schoolhouse already, and for an itemized list in regards to estimated repairs or improvement that still need to be completed, Basden said.
He added the group is trying to get access to the building later on, so it can get its own estimates done and perhaps shave a few dollars off that estimate, based on the sweat-equity he said his group is willing to put in.
The gradual plan for the Colchester Schoolhouse, he said would include three stages. Stage one would include cleaning it up and making it presentable, so it can be somewhat open to the public. He suspects this would be in the first year. Stage two would include recreating it to what it would have been way back when. At this point, he said, the plan would be to have it open to visitors with restoration in progress, and possibly get washrooms involved seasonally. Stage three would include a complete restoration of the building and adding hydro.
Basden noted the group has been granted the domain name heritagecolchester.ca, but a website is not up and running yet. A social media page has been created.
Laurie Brett, Chairperson of the Essex Municipal Heritage Committee, said the Heritage Colchester group has been working very hard, with members having an interest and a will to help preserve that property. “I think as the Committee, I think we are very impressed, because it is something that has to come from the community itself. It has to be grassroots. And, it will only be successful if the community is behind it.”
She added the Essex Municipal Heritage Committee is available to Heritage Colchester as a resource, if needed.
Basden plans to make a presentation at the March 15 Council meeting on the Heritage Colchester plan for the Schoolhouse, when the potential sale of the property will come before Council again.