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This is the third public school to serve the Mount Joy Community. The first public school to serve the community of Mount Joy was a frame building erected in 1835 on the property of Jacob Wismer. The location was the northeast corner of Lot 15, Concession 7. The Markham Township School Section was No. 16.
By 1858, the community began to consider a new school to be constructed on a new site. The first site considered was on the property of Mrs. Henry Crosby on Lot 17, Concession 8. Although this new school site was initially approved, in 1864 it was decided instead to purchase a one-acre site from pump maker Daniel Stickler the east half of Lot 16, Concession 7. The 50-acre Strickler property was a busy hub of commerce and industry. At various times the frontage contained a saddle and harness shop, a pump works, a pottery, and several dwellings.
The second Mount Joy Public School was a patterned brick one-room schoolhouse, constructed in the Italianate style in 1865. Architecturally, the new schoolhouse was similar to the schoolhouses at Locust Hill and Cedar Grove, built around the same time period (the 1860s).
In the early 1900s, it was decided to replace the schoolhouse of 1865 with a larger two classroom brick schoolhouse on the same site. The old schoolhouse was demolished, and while the new schoolhouse was under construction, students were accommodated in A. B. Ramer’s old furniture factory in Mount Joy.
The new Mount Joy Public School, completed in 1907, served until 1969. Over time, additions had been made to the front and north side of the original building. The school was jointly purchased by Markham Village and Markham Township. The property was purchased to provide a home for the Markham District Historical Museum. The museum was initiated by the Markham District Historical Society, formed in 1969. Markham’s first Official Historian John Lunau, a member of a Berczy Settler family and a resident of Mount Joy, played a leading role in the foundation of the historical society and the museum. He was the historical society’s first President, and William Rutledge was First Vice President.
The Markham District Historical Museum opened in 1970, with the old school containing exhibits, archives and offices. As the museum grew, an additional 23 acres of land were purchased to allow the development of an orchard and a museum village of relocated historical buildings. After the construction of a new building (named the John Lunau Centre) to house collections, archives, and exhibit space in the early 2000s, the former school became office space for what is now known as the Markham Museum.
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