ANNABLE AND JL WEBSTER ELEMENTARY

ANNABLE AND JL WEBSTER ELEMENTARY

The first record of a school in Annable, a residential area just west of Trail (now part of Warfield), was in 1912. It was a one room wooden structure located on Montcalm Road. It had 18 pupils in its first year of classes. It operated at this location until 1934 when a new and larger school for the area’s children was built on land donated by Joe and Mary Shutek on the highway from Trail to Rossland near Bingay Road. This school had two rooms and was also named Annable School.

In April 1949, this school was replaced by the James L. Webster Elementary School on property next door. The Annable School still stands and is used by School District No. 20 for its Trail area maintenance services. The James L. Webster Elementary School was named after a former member of the Provincial Legislature. This school remains in use and serves the communities of Warfield, Rivervale/Oasis, Genelle, Tadanac and West Trail.

A black and white photograph from around 1932 of a group of students at Annable School. There are three rows of children, with girls mainly in the back and middle rows, and boys in the front, all positioned in front of the school's entrance. The students are dressed in the simple, practical attire of the era, with the boys in button-up shirts and slacks, some with ties, and the girls in a mix of dresses and blouses with skirts. A few students are kneeling in the front row, while the others stand straight and tall. Two female teachers stand amidst the students, wearing period-appropriate clothing. The children exhibit a range of expressions from smiles to serious gazes, providing a candid glimpse into the school life of that time. The school building behind them is modest, with a visible entrance and large windows, characteristic of early 20th-century rural school architecture.

Annable School - circa 1932