School Name History

Location

6381 Mt. Lehman Road, Abbotsford

Opened

1884; 1891 burned down and replaced by another one-room school; 1909 replaced by two-room school that was enlarged over the years.

The School

The first school in Mt. Lehman was built in 1884, making it the oldest continuously operating school in School District #34. It was a one room school built at the corner of Mt. Lehman and Taylor Roads on land donated by James Banis. The first teacher was Ella Coghlan (1884-1887) who had thirty-three students. Because the school was painted barn red, it was called “the little red schoolhouse.” The school was also used as a church and as a centre to host community activities.

The school burned down and was replaced in 1891. In 1909 a larger, two-room school was built on the same spot.  Only one room was used until a second teacher was hired in 1913. Both rooms were heated by wood stoves.  It was the job of the boys to carry in the wood. There was no electricity or running water. A milk can of water was delivered each day to provide drinking water for the students. This two-room schoolhouse is the old wing of the present building.

In 1914 Mt. Lehman became a Superior School with first- and second-year high school classes. It remained as such until a new one-room high school was built at Harris and Ross roads. By the mid-1930s a gym was added and in 1945 another classroom.  For a while, starting in the 1960s, the school was called Mt. Lehman North to avoid confusion with Mt. Lehman High School (which later became Dunach Elementary).

Origin of the Name

The school is named after the community which, in turn, was named for Isaac Lehman. Isaac Lehman (1846-1931) was an early settler in the area although Albin Hawkins, a Royal Engineer, arrived before him. About 1880, the men of the area met at Hawkins’ house to decide on a name for their growing community of about fifty families. They wanted to name it Mount Hawkins, but Hawkins was too shy to have his name used. He suggested Lehman’s name instead.

Isaac Lehman was born in Markham, Ontario and moved first to the United States and then to the Fraser Valley. His first move was to Hatzic but he soon left because of the recurring floods and the multitude of mosquitoes. He took a riverboat to Mt. Lehman in 1879 where the higher ground meant no flooding and fewer mosquitoes.   The wharf at the river landing was called Lehman’s Landing; however, at the meeting at Hawkins’ house, the name was changed to Mt. Lehman. Isaac Lehman left Mt. Lehman and had many careers in many places. He was a wagon maker in Yale, a farmer in Mission, a miner in the Cariboo, a blacksmith in New Westminster, and a store owner and undertaker in Ashcroft. He passed away in Ashcroft in 1931.