Seen by hundreds of passers-by daily, a sign marking the location of the historic Golden Heights schoolhouse sits just off Hwy. 12 between Rocky Mountain House and Leslieville.

Named for area pioneers Art and Alvie Gold, the schoolhouse served students in the area between 1913 and 1950. After it closed, students were bused into Leslieville.

Arlene Jones has deep connections to the area and the school.

Not only is Jones a grandchild of the Golds themselves, but her mother, Alberta, was a teacher at the school. Jones also attended the school as a young child during its final few years before starting Grade 3 in Leslieville.

She recalls all the students walking to school in wool clothing, which could be smelly if it got wet or muddy.

Like many area schools, students often travelled several miles on foot to school or arrived on horseback.

“One day the boys were having a race on horseback coming into school,” Jones recalled. “I guess they didn’t see me and they ran over me — but I didn’t get hurt.”

Jones also recalls the cloakroom, where students would hang their coats and lunch buckets at the start of the day. At its peak, the school also included a barn for horses and a teacherage.

A big potbellied stove kept the building warm in the winter, which the teacher had to work to keep lit.

Because she was so young when she attended Golden Heights, Jones remembers her parents and grandparents keeping her home from school on especially cold days.

School building still standing in Rocky Mountain House

After the school closed, the building was moved to Rocky Mountain House and, amazingly, is still standing today.

The old Golden Heights building can be seen along 49th Street, directly west of the Royal Canadian Legion.

Jones says passing by the building in 2026 gives people a glimpse of just how small schoolhouses used to be.

She says she does not know what the building was used for after it was moved to Rocky Mountain House, or what it is used for today.