Petite école

Petite école is a rectangular one-storey building in clapboard siding with an east-facing front façade. It is located on the south side of St-Pierre-Ouest Boulevard in Caraquet.

Petite école is designated a Local Historic Place for its age, for its historic educational function in the community and for its architecture.

Petite école is recognized for being the oldest school with two divisions still standing in Caraquet. Grades 1 to 8 were taught there, and when it closed as a public school in 1967, Grades 1 through 5 were offered. It subsequently housed the municipal library and was then used for public education courses.

Petite école is also recognized for its architecture. Built in 1935 from the plans of notable Caraquet architect Nazaire Dugas, it replaced an older school that had stood on the same site. His style is reflected in the building’s rectangular shape, hipped gable roof and two-room interior layout. It has been restored to its original appearance.

Source: Caraquet Town Hall, Historic Places files, “La petite école”

The character-defining elements that describe Petite école include:

- one-storey rectangular massing;

- façade with its central entrance with two wide windows;

- stone foundation;

- gable roof with hipped ends;

- clapboard cladding;

- proportional arrangement of the doors and windows;

- interior layout.