Plaxtonville School District No. 1790
Plaxtonville School was built in 1908 as one of the schools of pioneer
days. It was situated about sixteen miles northeast of Wainwright on two
acres of land donated by Mr. Frank Plaxton, on the SE ¼ 16-46-5 W4.
Mr. E. Monaghan, a local resident, named the school as a tribute to three brothers, Aaron, George and Charles Plaxton and their sons, Stuart, William, Alex, Bud and Kirk who had taken up homesteads in the area. Aaron’s three daughters, Rose, Mahree and Audrey as well as granddaughter, Erma were pupils in the first school year of 1908-1909. Descendants of Stuart, William and Mahree children and grandchildren followed. Children of Stuart Plaxton who attended Plaxtonville were Marvin, Melba, Helen, Ione and Elwood, William’s children were namely, Clarence, Thelma, Edward, Lulu, Earl and Eileen.
A school was built in 1909 and a teacherage in 1924. I, Ione (Plaxton) Heatherington, began Grade one at Plaxtonville in 1921, I believe. The school at that time was white and rectangular in shape with three windows on the south (left) side and two on the east or front. It was equipped with three blackboards, a small library, lots of hooks for coats and shelves for lunch pails. The desks were single or double. I recall having to sit in a double desk between two small French speaking boys. My task was to teach them English. We were fortunate in having a large furnace-like stove at the back of the room to warm our cold hands and feet when we arrived in the morning. Our luxury items were, no doubt, the organ and telephone. I remember, one of our favorite teachers playing the organ at noon hours so we girls in particular, could amuse ourselves trying out the new dance steps.
Some of the family names during my stay at the school (1921-1929) were Wilhelm, Olson, Monaghan, Goddard, McWhirter, Plaxton, Teeter, Babb, Bisson, Beazley, O’Reilly, and LaFrance.
Teachers changed quite frequently in the earlier years but seemed to stay longer towards the end of my sojourn there. Some of the names I recall were Miss E. Hernden, Mr. Hilliker, Mr. Peterson, Mrs. Strang and the last of my teachers, Mrs. Robinson. Others were there for short periods. After I left for Wainwright High, in 1929, there were changes at Plaxtonville.
Some family names changed on the school register and as well a new cottage type school with indoor toilets was built. The original school was sold to the Gilt Edge Park Association to be used as a community hall. However, it was not to be for long. A short time later, its demise came as it burned to the ground, and all that was left of a building that had served the community so faithfully for so long, was ashes.
The new cottage-type Plaxtonville served the community for several more years until the pupils were bussed into Wainwright for their education.
The Plaxtonville school building remains on its site today but all that can be seen of it as you pass by is the roof top. The original school grounds echo no sounds of children’s voices and the building itself is the home of pigeons and other wildlife creatures.
Information for this article on Plaxtonville: 1. First hand information 2. Wainwright & District History Book “Buffalo Trails and Tales” 3. Further information may be found in “Buffalo Trails and Tales”
Plaxtonville School District No. 1790
Submitted by Ione M. (Plaxton) Hetherington B.Ed.
72-73