Interactive Schooldays

Due to the global pandemic, school is a lot different today than it was a year ago. Looking back even further – 100 to 150 years – there are many more differences. Scroll through the links below to use historical objects and photographs from the Lambton Heritage Museum collection to learn about schooldays in early Lambton County.

Explore Objects

Learn about objects used long ago in Lambton County schools.

Explore Photographs

Read the questions and use your observation skills to look carefully at each historical photo of a Lambton County school. Answers are included.

Short History

The first school classes in Lambton County were likely held in Sarnia about 1832. In 1843 each of Lambton’s ten original townships was divided into school sections (S.S.). One school could be built in each section.

School section boundaries and school sites changed as the population grew and people moved around. The placement of schools was not random. The walk to school was supposed to be no more than 2.4km for any student. This is about a 30- to 45-minute walk at an adult pace.

In the mid-1960s, the one-room schools in Lambton County were closed. Students were combined into a few large schools, spread around the county. Since the 1960s, some of the consolidated schools have closed but many new schools have also been built.

The maps reveal how the number of schools is Lambton County has decreased over time. Although each school has many more students. School locations are approximate.