Harbour Grace South in CensusDiv 1 - Avalon Peninsula-St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador — The Atlantic Provinces (North America)

Education & Confederation

Photographed by Jimmy Emerson, July 28, 2024

1. Education & Confederation Marker

Inscription. At the time of Confederation, Newfoundland and Labrador's education system was significantly behind the standards set in other provinces. Of its 1,187 schools, 778 were one-room structures like Otterbury Schoolhouse. Many had no running water or electricity and were heated by wood- or coal-burning stoves. Teachers were underpaid and usually lacked any formal training. Though the Commission of Government made school attendance mandatory in 1943, enforcement was minimal. Many children stayed home on a regular basis, as their parents could not afford clothing or supplies. Transportation was another barrier, which proved particularly difficult in remote communities.

After Confederation in 1949, Joseph R. Smallwood's government took immediate steps to improve education. Students entering teacher-training programs at Memorial University were offered grants and scholarships, and in the 1950s, roughly of the university's students enrolled in the Faculty of Education. Salaries steadily increased and pension plans offered further incentives.

Better public schools soon opened across the province. In the first 20 years after

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Confederation, the government constructed over a thousand new schools. These included a series of large, well-equipped regional and central high schools, which featured science labs, gymnasiums, libraries, musical facilities, and cafeterias. Transportation also improved, with new roads constructed across the province and buses bringing students to and from class each day. The government further subsidized textbooks and provided scholarships to help affordability.

Despite these improvements, one-room schoolhouses remained well into the 1960s Otterbury Schoolhouse permanently closed in 1967, with students moving to the old St. Columba, near the former Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Harbour Grace's east end, and St. Joseph's in Riverhead

Pictured: North Side (Otterbury area) of Harbour Grace, circa 1920.
Photo courtesy Conception Bay Museum archives

Erected by Town of Harbour Grace.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Education. A significant historical year for this entry is 1949.

Location. 47° 40.371′ N, 53° 15.319′ W. Marker is in Harbour Grace, Newfoundland and Labrador, in CensusDiv 1 -

Schoolhouse & Education & Confederation Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Jimmy Emerson, July 28, 2024

2. Schoolhouse & Education & Confederation Marker

Avalon Peninsula-St. John's. It is in Harbour Grace South. It is on Water Street West, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 546 Water St W, Harbour Grace NL A0A 2N0, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Atlantic Canada.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony

and also the Viceroyalty of New France.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Otterbury Schoolhouse (Built circa 1884) / Preserving the Schoolhouse (a few steps from this marker); Amelia Earhart (about 90 meters away, measured in a direct line); Rothesay House, Munn/Godden Residence (approx. 3.9 kilometers away); Transatlantic Flights / Vols Transatlantiques (approx. 4.1 kilometers away); Laurence Coughlan (approx. 4.1 kilometers away); Harbour Grace Court House / Palais de Justice D'Harbour Grace (approx. 4.1 kilometers away); CN Railway Station (approx. 7.4 kilometers

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away); Former Carbonear Railway Station / L'Ancienne Gare de Carbonear (approx. 7.4 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Harbour Grace.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 8, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 6, 2026, by Jimmy Emerson of Dalton, Georgia. This page has been viewed 10 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 6, 2026, by Jimmy Emerson of Dalton, Georgia. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.