NOTICE OF INTENTION TO DESIGNATE: 7593 5 Side Road

NOTICE OF INTENTION TO DESIGNATE UNDER THE ONTARIO HERITAGE ACT

IN THE MATTER OF THE ONTARIO HERITAGE ACT AND IN THE MATTER OF the lands in the Town of Halton Hills known municipally as 7593 5 Side Road, Regional Municipality of Halton, legally described as “PT LT 6, CON 2 ESQ, PART 3, 20R9814; HALTON HILLS/ESQUESING” and known as the Ligny School House.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Town of Halton Hills intends to designate the property at 7593 5 Side Road, Halton Hills, under Section 29(1), Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter O.18.

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest:

The property at 7593 5 Side Road has physical and design value as a representative and rare example of an Ontario rural one-room schoolhouse in the community of Scotch Block within the Town of Halton Hills. The one-and-a-half storey schoolhouse is the oldest and only frame schoolhouse in Halton Hills and features a gable roof with a belfry and bell, central entrance with two windows along the front elevation, multiple windows along the side elevations, and a date sign indicating the date of construction (c. 1874).  The design features influence from The School House; Its Architecture, External and Internal Arrangements and the Canadian Farmer, which published architectural plans and construction methods for grammar, intermediate, and primary schools in Canada. While the window and door openings have been modified, and a rear addition was incorporated, the building maintains the form, massing, and layout of a one-room schoolhouse.

The property at 7593 5 Side Road has historical and associative value due to its associations with the early educational system in the community of Scotch Block, the growth of the student population resulting from the Ontario School Act, and the rural development of the surrounding area. The property also yields information regarding the early settler growth of Scotch Block and provides more information regarding the early development of the educational system in Ontario.  

The property at 7593 5 Side Road has contextual value as it is important in defining, maintaining, and supporting the rural character of the area along 5 Side Road. The former Ligny Schoolhouse is physically, visually, and historically linked to its surroundings as an early schoolhouse that serviced the local school section. Due to the vegetation along the front (southeast) elevation, the schoolhouse remains slightly visible to the public right of way. Thus, the property has not been identified as a landmark.  

The heritage attributes of the property at 7593 5 Side Road are identified as follows: 

• The setback, location, and orientation of the schoolhouse along 5 Side Road in the community of Scotch Block within the Town of Halton Hills; 
• The scale, form, and massing of the one-and-a-half storey frame schoolhouse with gable roof; 
• On the front (south) elevation: 
  • Date sign located directly beneath the gable peak, inscribed with “Ligny S.S. No.1 1874” 
  • Central entryway flanked by transoms; 
  • Two window openings; and, 
• On the side elevations, evenly spaced window openings along each side elevation, modified from segmentally arched openings to flatheaded openings. 

The rear elevation, rear addition, accessory structure, and interiors were not investigated as part of this report.  

Further information respecting the Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest and proposed designation of 7593 5 Side Road (refer to Report PD-2026-060) is available by contacting Laura Loney, Manager of Heritage Planning for the Town of Halton Hills at 905-873-2600 x 2358 or by email at [email protected] 

Any person may, by October 18, 2026 (within 30 days after the date of the publication of this notice) serve the Clerk ([email protected]) and Laura Loney notice of their objection to the proposed designation in accordance with the Ontario Heritage Act, setting out the reason for the objection and all relevant facts. 

Dated at the Town of Halton Hills this 18th day of September 2026. 

Laura Loney, Manager of Heritage Planning, Planning and Development, The Corporation of the Town of Halton Hills, 1 Halton Hills Drive, Halton Hills, ON L7G 5G2.