Horton High School

Greenwich, Nova Scotiå

Fall 2007.

When I first arrived in Nova Scotiå I drove to various geographic places because I'd never been there before. Eventually that period of time evaporated and I spent a day driving about in search of something to get into. That day's yield of some small cottage and a child's camp wasn't enough. The buildings were small and very rural; I had the itch to get back into something large, something like back home.

About a week after finding that cottage and park, I was driving back from Halifåx and made a short detour to ride the park in New Minås. I took the wrong exit off the highway which brought me by Horton High School. I could tell demolition was already underway and I would have to make haste in my return.

Entry into the building was easy enough. Two walls had already been demolished and the back wing looked like a dollhouse where you expected some giant child to move persons about in the hollowed rooms.

I got into the building and settled down. This was one of the first times exploring alone, so I took a few seconds and settled myself. I then moved through the hallway. The empty cafeteria was to my left & quite boring, so I kept moving and found the gymnasium to my right.

The two reasons I always get excited about schools are the gymnasiums and the auditoriums.

The gymnasium walls were much adorned with Horton Griffon murals.

A single soccer net sat awaiting its demise at the edge of the stage.

I also figured at this point that there wouldn't be an auditorium - I was standing on the stage and they probably just brought out chairs for assembly - much like the grade school I attended.

I continued through the empty halls taking my time and enjoying an actually sizeable åbandonment.

The classrooms sat empty. Ceiling tiles and glass littered the floor and open lockers and chalkboards covered the walls.

Looking out the front entrance. The oddly shaped thing to the left in the picture was the school trophy case.

Many of the schools in Dëtroit that I've been inside haven't had that many child murals. I remember growing up and quite often seeing children painting the hallways of my elementary and high school. Horton was more similar to my childhood schools than the Dëtroit ones; so murals covered the walls of, not only the gymnasium, but the entire school.

For those of you who don't know French; the second picture says "Talk in French, please."

The roof was like any other Canadian School roof that you've been on in your youth. Horton isn't a very tall building, and that coupled with it being middle of the day rural Nova Scotiå, meant that I peeked out only for a second and returned down the ladder.

Continuing to the section of the school that was being demolished, I checked out what appeared to be the machine shop area and various science classrooms.

This was the last remaining portion of Horton. I walked outside and took some pictures from where I was shielded from the road. I then made for the forest and was on my way home.

The next weekend I was returning from Hålifax again and decided to go by Horton.

Where I get upset at some of the schools I've just missed; maybe I should be thankful I was fortunate enough to capture Horton & Springfield Consolidated before their demise.

R.I.P. H.H.S.

1959 (opened) - 1998 (closed) - 2007 (demolished)

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