A Building with a Unique Heritage by: Dale Ells
The Museum Building has more than 100 years of service. It was constructed in 1900-01 and opened in the autumn of 1901 as the Science Building for teacher education students at the Provincial Normal School, and for the School of Agriculture. The main entrance was through the doorway on the north end. A greenhouse, attached at the south end of the building, was entered from the lower floor.
This new building replaced the science facilities constructed earlier in Bible Hill. The academic building for the School of Agriculture, which was built in 1892 on the Provincial Demonstration Farm in Bible Hill, had many well designed science labs. For six years, Normal School students went to Bible Hill for most of their science labs until a fire in 1898 destroyed that building. The expanding programs for teacher education at the Normal School increased the need for more science facilities. The Provincial Government decided to locate the new Science Building adjacent to Young Street and close to the Main Building of the Provincial Normal School.
The building was designed under the influence of the Beaux Arts Revival Movement and is constructed of brick masonry with a red sandstone foundation. A drawing of the building, which is reproduced above, was featured on the front page of the December 8, 1900, issue of the Truro Daily News. That article noted that the architects were Messers. Elliott and Hopson. The contractor was J. M. Reid and Son from Windsor, Nova Scotia. The basement floor was designed for the Macdonald Manual Training School, which was funded by Sir William Macdonald. The main floor featured a large laboratory for physical and biological studies. The second floor, where the Archives is located today, was a chemistry laboratory. That explains why the floor is made of slate embedded in concrete, which according to an earlier story on October 8, cost over $800. The top floor, presently a meeting room, was designed as a science museum. In total, it was reported that the building cost over $25,000.
The Science Building served teacher education well until 1961 when the Normal College was relocated to a new campus on Arthur Street. That new campus is now the home of the Nova Scotia Community College - Truro Campus. The Science Building continued to be used by the local school system for industrial arts classes for several more years.
Since 1976, the Science Building has been the home of the Colchester Historical Society’s Museum and Archives. To help prepare the building for this new role, the Province made several improvements including a new roof , an elevator, and a new structure on the south end which houses the main entrance, washrooms and office.
The building is used by the Colchester Historical Society for historical education and research. It is an important part of the educational and architectural heritage of Colchester County.
In 2004, the Town of Truro designated the building as a Registered Heritage Property.
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Purpose & History
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Program Areas
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Board
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Our Building
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Picture Gallery 1
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Financial Matters
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Links
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