Sitting atop the hill that cuts through Cobalt, at first glance nothing betrays the true fate of the Cobalt Coleman Public School. The grounds are on the unkempt side, but not particularly so. In fact, I only discovered it had been shuttered and abandoned by being explicitly told this was the case, which a quick poking around the site confirmed. That quick poke around the site also led to access to the building.
Location | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cobalt, Ontario, Canada | ||||||
Built :: Closed | Status | Difficulty | ||||
1970's :: 2012 | Partially Demolished | ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ | ||||
Hazards Risk | Security Risk | AUE Rating | ||||
★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ | ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ | ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ | ||||
Hazard Observations | Security Observations | |||||
None Specified | Residential Neighbourhood |
Erected on top of tailings from the old Coniagas Mill site, the school served the needs of the area around Cobalt for roughly 40 years. However, after years of declining attendance, the District School Board Ontario North East first looked at closing the school in 2007 and busing the students to Temiskaming Shores, as it already did with high school students following the closure of Colbalt High School. The community rallied and postponed the decision a few years, but ultimately the numbers prevailed and the facility was shuttered in 2012.
Today, most of the assets have been stripped from the school for use elsewhere, although numerous awards the school won during it's time remain on display for the masses of no one. What couldn't be re-appropriated elsewhere was relocated to the gymnasium, where it was left to rot. By size, the school is tiny compared to what I'm used to (coming from Toronto), consisting of approximately six classrooms, a library, a computer lab, a music room, and a gymnasium.
Given the size, there wasn't a ton to see, but it at least made for a nice break from all the old mine sites surrounding the town.