1488 Old School Road, Caledon $2.95 million Seven years ago, Thomas Pigeon and his wife, Molly Neice, were taking a drive through the foothills of Caledon and stopped to go see an open house. The newlyweds had planned to buy a townhouse in Toronto, but fell in love when they walked into the unique country house, which incorporated a heritage 1879 limestone schoolhouse.
“We could have spent a million-and-a-half dollars to buy a place in Toronto, or (we could) buy a piece of history in the country, and we decided on the latter,” says Pigeon. “I love Toronto. I love the vibe.
I love the pulse, but there’s nothing like stepping outside (on) your country estate, smelling the fresh air, or having a glass of Chardonnay on the patio as you watch the sun set.” Until 1921, classes were held in the one-room schoolhouse, then it became a community meeting place. In the 1960s, Fred and Marjorie Sharpe and his wife bought it at auction, and it’s since been known as the Sharpe Schoolhouse.
Fred had been a student there for eight years and met Marjorie years later when she was a teacher there. In the ‘80s, the Sharpe family converted it into a house, designing an addition that blended with the original building masterfully. Pigeon and Neice are its fourth owners and have left the interior much as it was when they bought it.
The schoolhouse has heritage designation under the Ontario Heritage Act. The boys’ and girls’ separate entry doors, the original chalkboards, the headma.
