The Municipality of North Grenville, on the recommendation of the Heritage Advisory Committee, has declared its intention to designate the old North Grenville District High School building on Prescott Street as a Heritage Building. The municipality received an application last March from the building owners, the Upper Canada District School Board, to make alterations and/or repairs to the building.

As the school was already on the North Grenville Inventory of Historic Structures, the application was dealt with at the Advisory Committee’s monthly meeting in April. That Committee voted unanimously to recommend to Council that a notice of intent to so designate be served on the UCDSB. This was done, both in person to the Board in May, and through notices in the media in June.

The School Board has now submitted a Letter of Objection to the municipality, objecting to the proposed designation. This requires, under the Ontario Heritage Act, that the municipality refer the matter to the Conservation Review Board for a hearing and report. This hearing will be open to the public.

The High School was opened in December, 1936, replacing a building from 1888 that had been destroyed by fire earlier that year. Originally a Composite School, that is serving both elementary and secondary levels, it was expanded in 1954 and continued to serve the region until it was, in turn, replaced by the new High School. The name change from Kemptville High School to North Grenville District High School occurred in January 1955. It was not until 1958 that the public school students left North Grenville for their new school on Reuben Street.

An addition was made to North Grenville District High School in 1960.

Another addition came in 1971. This latter addition comprised a modern school library and the following shops: woodworking, auto, machine, electrical/electronics, and drafting. Classrooms were added over the shops. The construction of art and music classrooms was an additional asset. In the following year, 1972, grades 7 and 8 moved back into the High School. The new North Grenville District High School on Concession Road opened in September 2012.

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