A Step Back in Time...
The Village of Clayburn , was founded in 1905 as British Columbia's first company town. The village and brick plant (to which Clayburn owes it's name) was developed by Charles Maclure, son of John Maclure, a former Royal Engineer who settled on a government land grant west of Clayburn. The company town provided housing and services in order to sustain a productive workforce in what was an isolated location in the early 1900's. The plant operated in Clayburn until the 1930s, when it was relocated to Kilgard. Many residents remained and the community continued to exist as a small enclave in the Fraser Valley.
Clayburn Schoolhouse
Clayburn Schoolhouse is one of the earliest structures built in Clayburn Village to support the families living in Canada's first company built town. The first section was built in 1907-1908 and operated as a school on and off until 1983.
The Clayburn Schoolhouse is a wood-frame, one-story plus basement schoolhouse with a central entrance and two large gabled extensions on the front facade. It is located in the Village of Clayburn, on the west side of Sumas Mountain, in relative proximity to the other early principal structures in the village, including Clayburn Church.
Today it is a popular wedding venue and frequently used for scenes in the film industry.
The Clayburn Village Community Society maintains the Clayburn Village Museum in the lower level which houses a collection of artefacts, photos and model of Clayburn Village in the 1920's. Local volunteers provide walking tours, interpret local history and the nature of early education in the village.
The Clayburn Schoolhouse is of heritage value as one of the earliest structures in Clayburn Village, with the first section being built in 1907-1908. Representative of early twentieth century school house design, the Clayburn Schoolhouse was built on a simple rectangular plan with a hipped roof, with banked windows on the side elevation. Originally built as a one-room school house, it was later enlarged, doubling the size of school; the building was also raised and a full basement was added.
The standardized design reflects the central role of the provincial government in setting educational standards, and the reliance of local school boards on the province's assistance. The original portion of Clayburn Schoolhouse was constructed by prominent Fraser Valley contractor Robert Harvey Brock (1868-1947), following the standards of British Columbia public school architecture laid out by the Provincial Department of Lands and Works, which provided the plans and specified the orientation of the building. The banked windows allowed abundant natural light but also sufficient wall space for large blackboards.
Clayburn Schoolhouse is also significant for its continuing role in the community. During the Second World War, the school served as a community hall, then was used again as a school until 1983, when it was rezoned to residential use. The Clayburn Village Community Society purchased it in 1991, and has been responsible for its ongoing maintenance.
Source: City of Abbotsford
CHARACTER-DEFINING ELEMENTS
Key elements that define the heritage character of the Clayburn Schoolhouse include its:
- original location, near other historic Clayburn structures
- institutional form, scale and massing as expressed by its one-storey, symmetrical rectangular plan with central entry and rectangular front elevation extensions; and raised basement
- wood-frame construction with lapped wooden siding and cornerboards
- cedar shingled, hipped roof; gabled roofs on the front extensions; closed eaves
- exterior features such as the enclosed, central front entrance; exterior basement entrances; and open rear entrance porch with gabled roof; and buff brick chimney
- variety of wooden-sash windows, including: double-hung 2-over-2 front elevation windows; multiple-assembly double-hung 6-over-6 side elevation windows; fixed sash basement windows (four and six-paned) with hopper transom lights (two and three-paned); and three and six-paned fixed sash basement windows
- interior features such as tongue-and-groove clad ceiling and walls in porch extension; tongue-and-groove wainscoting in the schoolrooms; and associated fixtures such as blackboards
- associated landscape features such as an adjacent creek and grassed side and rear yards.
Exterior view Schoolhouse 2005
Donald Luxton and Associates
Exterior view Schoolhouse circa 1925
MSA Museum Society, #7708
Exterior view Schoolhouse circa 1910
MSA Museum Society, #P8210_1910
Clayburn Church
Built in 1912, the Clayburn Church was one of the landmark structures in the community due to its early vernacular architecture and conspicuous utilization of the local brick from the Clayburn brickyards. Modest in size and design, this simple village church featured a steeply pitched roof with rooftop belfry. The church was constructed of red brick on the exterior and exposed buff brick interior walls; buff brick was a specialty of the Clayburn Company. The interior brick, which typically would have been clad with finishing material, is exposed, indicating the pride the community had for their local product.
The structure was originally built for a Presbyterian congregation but has served many purposes over the years.
The church was rebuilt in xxxxx
Located within the village of Clayburn, British Columbia's first company town, Clayburn Church is symbolic of the early life in the village and also its primary industrial activity of brick-making. The village and brick plant were founded in 1905 by Charles Maclure, son of John Maclure, a former Royal Engineer who settled on a government land grant west of Clayburn. Company towns provided housing and services in order to sustain a productive workforce in what were usually isolated conditions. The plant operated in Clayburn until the 1930s, when it was relocated and most of the original residents moved away.
Built in 1912, the Clayburn Church was one of the landmark structures in the community due to its early vernacular architecture and conspicuous utilization of the local brick from the Clayburn brickyards. Modest in size and design, this simple village church featured a steeply pitched roof with rooftop belfry. The church was constructed of red brick on the exterior and exposed buff brick interior walls; buff brick was a specialty of the Clayburn Company. The interior brick, which typically would have been clad with finishing material, is exposed, indicating the pride the community had for their local product.
Indicative of the high regard the community held for the church, when it was in severely deteriorated condition, the building was dismantled piece by piece in 1978 and reconstructed using as much salvageable material as was possible. Furthermore, as many of the original exterior bricks could not be re-used, new bricks of a similar type were reproduced at Clayburn Industries, successor to the original Clayburn brickworks, perpetuating the link between the community and this prominent local company.
The Clayburn Church is also of value for its role of service to the community as a place of worship and community gathering. It served a Presbyterian congregation until Church Unification in 1925, when it voted to join the new United Church of Canada. Clayburn Church was closed in 1958 when the congregation amalgamated with Trinity Memorial Church in Abbotsford. Since re-opening in 1978, the non-denominational sanctuary has been used as a community place of worship, weddings, christenings and other community functions.
Source: City of Abbotsford
CHARACTER-DEFINING ELEMENTS
Key elements that define the heritage character of Clayburn Church include its:
- location on its original lot, close to its original location, near other historic Clayburn structures
- ecclesiastical form, scale and massing as expressed by its regular, rectangular plan with a small square front porch with front gabled roof
- steeply pitched front gabled roof clad in cedar shingles; rooftop belfry with shingle-clad base, louvered vents and pyramidal roof topped by a small wooden finial
- interior and exterior masonry construction: brick, cavity wall construction with red brick exterior; exposed, buff-coloured brick interior walls utilizing original interior bricks; rear addition feature wall utilizing original, exterior red bricks
- fenestration, including: segmental arched openings with multi-paned, wooden-sash casement window assemblies within main sanctuary; multi-paned, fixed wooden-sash windows in porch; louvered front vent; and front entrance with fir panelled, v-joint front doors
- interior features such as fir mouldings surrounding window and door openings; raised altar with original, turned, fir railing; fir floor; open interior plan; and high, exposed wooden truss roof with plank ceiling.
Interior view Church 2005
Donald Luxton and Associates
Exterior view Church 2005
Donald Luxton and Associates
Clayburn Brick Plant
Under Development