Springfield Consolidated School

Springfield, Nova Scotiå

Fall 2007, Winter 2008 & Spring 2008.

One day last fall, I retrieved directions to the satellite place and embarked on an adventure.

Traveling to the satellite place from my house involves crossing the mountains of Nova Scotia. Mountains is an overstatement though. The 'mountains', or more appropriately foothills, are just minor remnants of the end of the Appalachian Mountain Chain (i.e. the mountains in Pennsylvania, New York, Maine, &c.). It was halfway through the foothills that I had found true beauty roadside. Life is slower paced in the foothills and I thought maybe that I had found the area of Nova Scotia where abåndonments actually exist and last.

It was early and I had plenty of time. The satellite place could wait as I decided to take a look around Springfield Consolidated.

There wasn't a board anywhere in sight. It appeared as if they never even tried to seal up the building. Why were there no boards; and more so why were there no windows?

Whatever. I reasoned it was because they were about to demolish the building and went about my business.

I walked around and weighed the option of hitting one of the many open lower floor windows. My modus operandi is to avoid extraneous entrance work whenever possible. I remember one night in Southwest Dëtroit climbing through an elevated open window right on Fort Street; only to realize that the front door had a giant, much easier hole in it. That wasn't happening again.

Lazy me luckily found stairs around back and went down to the lower floor. There was a layer of items beneath my feet; but nothing of significance. Springfield Consolidated is quite small and I didn't really expect that much.

Springfield is located about 50 kilometers north of Bridgewater (a town of population 5 000 - a fair size town in Nova Scotiä) & 50 kilometers south of Middleton (a town of similar stature to Bridgewater). Its isolation and distance from civilization meant that this school could never have had that large of enrollment.

One of the rooms still had some desks in it. Although, most of the rooms sat empty with the aforementioned item layer of drawings, children's books and other various papers.

After I looked through the 4 classrooms of the bottom floor I moved upstairs.

The building was very structurally sound and I reasoned that it couldn't have been closed very long. The mid latitude climate of Nova Scotia and the freeze thaw cycles that accompany, would destroy a building like this in very little time.

(I found from the internet that Springfield Consolidated closed its doors June 20, 2004.)

The upper floors had full size windows and therefore even more light was available in each room.

The second floor also had much larger rooms with beautiful old woodwork. The larger rooms were much more pleasant and enjoyable than the basement rooms. While the basement rooms probably had classes of 5 or so; these may have had classes in the 10 - 20 range.

Big ledge for a little elementary school.

Upper floor hallway.

The major highway (if you want to call it that), that passes through Springfield wasn't very far away.

This was early into my Nova Scotia tenure and I was really trying not to be seen inside the building. Looking back, I don't think anyone would really care. People seem to be more reasonable here; as opposed to the Windsor mentality of call police first and never ask questions later (why think for yourself or mind your own business?).

I sat in a desk for a minute and took it in. Nova Scotia has slowed my explorin pace because I know there isn't 4 more buildings I need to hit the same day.

I went down to the basement and searched to see if I had missed anything. Nope. I took some shots of the various murals and walked out the unlocked door.

I went back to the satellite place again in the winter.

Springfield Consolidated still sat empty and open. I wanted to look for the roof I missed; but instead I continued on my way.

Now you may be asking yourself...why hell the hell is Navi babbling on about some 9 room schoolhouse in the foothills of Nova Scotia?

Well...

Yep.

Sure enough, I was bored the other day and called my boy GW to see if he wanted to head up to this abåndoned elementary school up in the mountains. GW's been hitting some small stuff with me of late; so I figured it would be a good trip to see the roof.

Well I could barely believe my eyes when I came downhill through Springfield...the school was gone!

Now you know why Springfield Consolidated is here because of my fascination with demolished buildings.

Walking around the rubble, I found that most of the wood was charred and burned.

Did it burn down or get torn down?

I saw some people walking by and asked them. They told me that the government came and burned it down - it's the way they tear down buildings now supposedly...

I guess it beats the illegal arson method in Detroit which risks firefighters lives...

R.I.P. S.C.S.

Navi

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