Block Name: “Beechwood Schoolhouse”
Host Name: Adrian & Cathy Olley
Address: 513 Sharpe Line, Cavan
The “Beechwood Schoolhouse” quilt block is based on a traditional Schoolhouse design, modified to mirror Beechwood’s features, and is framed by a motif of beech leaves to reflect the name. Adrian and Cathy Olley bought this property in 2013 and continue to cherish the one room schoolhouse that was so well preserved by its previous owners, Murray and Bronwen Hofstetter.
Beechwood School was constructed in 1864, using locally manufactured bricks from the Cavan brickyard, which were also used in St. John’s Anglican Church in Ida. The school replaced Sharpe’s School (1834), once located just to the south. At least nine of Beechwood’s teachers were from the Sharpe family; others were from the Stewart, Lough and McCamus families. A well to supply water to the school was dug in 1937 and an outdoor pump installed. A wood stove supplied heat in the winter months; it also served as an ideal surface for students to warm up lunch buckets of soup and toast sandwiches! Beechwood School (S.S.#4, Cavan) was closed in 1963 when North Cavan School opened, and in 1965 the property was sold to the Hofstetters, who used the schoolhouse as an artist’s studio, preserving the blackboards and some of the other furnishings. It now serves as Cathy Olley’s quilting studio. In 2016, a school reunion attracted close to 40 former students back to the site, with many a tale to tell.
Block designed by Cathy and Adrian Olley, Kate DeKlerck, Debra Jackson and Bonnie McQuarrie.
Block painted by Jeanne Moran.
Barn Quilt Trail Etiquette:
Please Respect Private Property. Most quilt blocks are installed on private property and should be viewed from the road.
Please do not trespass. In some cases - only where clearly indicated - the barn quilt may be located on a business and the property may be open to the public.
Please drive carefully. Stopping along busy roads can be dangerous and illegal. Use caution when slowing or stopping near a site
