c. 1948 Canada photos of one room rural schoolhouses near North Bay ON

Two photos of rural schoolhouses 2A located in Widdifield Township, east end of North Bay in Northern Ontario. 

Photo #1 New and Old SS2A schoolhouses

Photo that shows original wooden one room schoolhouse, built ~1903. Plaque above door SS2A. Outhouse out back, bell tower on roof. Nearby, newer brick structure, built ~1918,  with some kids in front and others playing out back.

Handwritten at top “2A Widdifield”.  On bottom “The Old (1900?) and The New (1948)”

Photo #2 1948 SS2A one-room interior

Nice view of a typical rural schoolhouse in late 1940s.

Front of class:

• Student artwork above blackboard titled ‘Spring has spung’ with rural farm scene
  written on blackboard:
  •    “Look Who’s here” with list of birds, markings, when, who saw it,
  • “April 27^th Health, Why do we need vitamin C?”
  • Daffodil, Tulip
  • Drawing of animals, calendar for month of April (1948)
• Teacher desk with books
• Table with 4 bird houses

Students desk and chairs, with books and papers stuffed under desk

On bottom “Classroom 2A   Widdifield Teacher Gen. 1948” 

Both 20 x 25 cm. Mounted on same black photo album page, back to back

In northern Ontario, especially Nipissing District, school sections were numbered S.S. No. 1, 2, 3, etc. When a section was split due to population growth, the new school was designated, such as S.S. No. 2A.

This was a one‑room rural school, located in Widdifield Township, Nipissing District It operated roughly 1900s–1950s

S.S. No. 2A was located east of Widdifield Station, serving families

• along the colonization roads north of Trout Lake
• near early farm lots in Widdifield Township
•  in the area between the station and the rural concessions toward Thibeault Hill 

It was not at the station itself — rural schools were placed where the children lived, not at railway sidings.

1900s–1910s
School established as settlement expanded.

1920s–1940s
Peak enrollment.
Typical class size: 10–25 students
Grades: 1–8 in one room.

1950s–1960s
Decline as North Bay expanded and rural schools consolidated.

Post‑1960s
School closed; students m