Former school building approved for heritage designation in Mississauga

A former, historic school got approval for a heritage designation in Mississauga.

Now part of the Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, the brick building at 1375 Blundell Rd. at Dundas Street and Dixie Road in Mississauga was once home to Dixie Public School.

The building was approved for a heritage designation by the City of Mississauga Heritage Advisory Committee recently.

The first two schoolhouses in this area were located on the northeast corner of Dixie and Dundas, according to a report to the Heritage Advisory Committee. The first, a log building, operated between 1846 and 1857. The second, a frame wood building, functioned between 1857 and 1922.

Additions were added as the population grew. And the community wanted a larger building around 1915 but plans were put on hold during the First World War.

The current building, at the southwest corner of Dixie and Dundas, was built in 1921 on what was then 2520 Dixie Rd. It was designed by Smith & Wright, a well-known Toronto-based company.

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In 1923, “a new beautifully ornate school of buff bricks from the Milton Brick Company, with four classrooms and an auditorium, was opened south of Dundas Street on the west side of Third Line (Dixie Road),” according to the report.

The Dixie School has design value as a rare example of Romanesque Revival architecture in Mississauga, the report states.

“It is also a rare surviving early twentieth century school in Mississauga,” the report continues. “It has historical and associative value because it has direct association with Dixie School, which is significant to Mississauga as Dixie is one its founding villages.”

The building was used as a school until 1960.

The old school was sold in 1962 to the Ministry of Government Services for the Ministry of Transportation,. It was used as a driver examination centre until 1982.

In 1983, it was sold to Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church and is still used for events run by the church.

In 2002, a new church building opened and in 1994, the property address was officially changed to 1375 Blundell Rd.

For more information, see the Heritage Advisory Committee meeting here and the report here.

Photos: City of Mississauga report