The first Sahtlam School was a log structure built in 1890 on land owned by Daniel Currie along the wagon road to Cowichan Lake. While under construction, classes were held in a Menzies Road house owned by John Blair — credited with the landscaping of Victoria’s Beacon Hill Park. His daughter, Jeannie, was the first teacher.
Sahtlam School District was formally created by the BC Government in 1918; however, ownership of the schoolhouse land was still with Daniel Currie. This was rectified by his son, John, with the sale of the lot to the Sahtlam schoolboard in 1922 for $100. By this time, the schoolhouse was the last log edifice in the Cowichan Valley that had been erected for school purposes.
A new wooden schoolhouse was erected in 1922 with the log schoolhouse retained as a play space for students. A brass plaque bearing the names of two former pupils killed during WWI — Henry John Payne and Charles Stuart Jordan — was mounted in the school library and unveiled in November 1931.
In 1946, Sahtlam School came under the mandate of the newly created School District 65 (Cowichan). A modern one-room flat-roofed school was built beside the second schoolhouse in 1955. Both schoolhouses operated together until September 1965 when Sahtlam School became an annex of Tansor School for grades 1–4 only.
Thirty-seven years later in 2002, Sahtlam School was closed by the school district. In 2008, property and schoolhouse were sold to private owners, Barry and Rose Lehna. Recognizing that Sahtlam School was the last vestige of Sahtlam pioneer history, the Lehnas agreed to the installation of four signs commemorating the three former schools on the fence enclosing their property.
At 2:00 pm Saturday, May 26, 2018, the Cowichan Valley School Heritage Society will unveil a fifth sign at the site, 4410 Old Lake Cowichan Road. Former students and teachers as well as interested public members are invited to attend.
Submitted by Carolyn Prellwitz, Retired teacher, SD79 (Cowichan Valley)