Porter Lake School: A relic preserved amongst the prairies
On a warm summer day in 2020 a good friend Craig and I hit the open road in eastern Alberta looking for abandonment and excitement. He was working on a new album and wanted to capture some portraits for the sleeves amongst the decay. We explored some well-known spots – but one had been on my to do list for a while: Porter Lake School.
Built in 1928 it must have been an absolute stunner in its time. The vibrancy of the original colors comes through behind weather worn siding and dust covered artifacts. It was shut down as a school in 1952, but apparently repainted and repurposed as a community center for some time afterword. Since then, it has sat in various states of decay. But there is no other equalizer like mother nature. With main windows missing their glass counterpart – it’s hard to keep out the elements, only degrading the interior further season by season.
The items left behind were breathtaking; a gorgeous Wardell piano, a pristine cast iron stove are just some of the wonders that lurked in the shadows.
It was the last exploration of the day, and we took pause before hopping into the truck. It’s sad that so few of these schools are being preserved for historic significance, but we felt like we accomplished much in learning its hidden history. For an explorer, the adventure never truly ends when the last site is in the rear-view mirror – it continues to live on in the stories, the photos, the experience.
Four Years later in the dead of winter, I came back to this beauty to grab shots of it locked away in snow and ice:
