Extension School no longer occupies a small rural lot just off Extension Rd. south of Nanaimo. The tiny two-room school was recently demolished. (Ian Holmes & Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

longstanding memories

End of an era: 104-year-old Extension School south of Nanaimo torn down

Mar 7, 2020 | 6:58 AM

NANAIMO — A long-closed historic two-room school in the small community of Extension just south of Nanaimo has been flattened and removed.

Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools director of communications Dale Burgos said crews recently demolished and trucked away the remains of the old Extension School building on Ryder Rd.

The 104-year-old facility served the once-bustling Extension community from 1916 until its closure nearly 20 years ago.

Several people questioned why the building couldn’t be preserved as a heritage site when NanaimoNewsNOW profiled its pending demolition earlier this year.

Others wanted to save pieces of the building, which was originally constructed to serve the booming coal town.

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Burgos said the gutted structure presented a public safety risk.

“When you have a building that’s a safety concern with hazardous materials inside the building, the decision of course was made by the District that it needed to come down,” Burgos said.

An environmental engineering firm’s report compiled for the District outlined a widespread collection of hazardous materials in the building, including asbestos, lead and mold.

The future of the unoccupied lot is unclear.

“The next steps haven’t been determined yet,” Burgos said. “The District cannot sell that property because it’s Crown property, it was gifted to the school district.”

Nanaimo museum curator Aimee Greenaway previously told NanaimoNewsNOW the old Extension School was first opened on nearby Scannel Rd. in 1916 before it was moved on a flatbed truck in the mid 1950’s.

The Extension School was serving as a primary school when it was shut down in 2001.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes