One of our later editions to Cornwall's list of designated buildings is Central Public School. 

The recognition is for the surviving structural elements from the 1931 addition to the front facade of the building which complement aspects of the 1883 design. The portion that was saved is shown above. It is being included in the new school as part of the internal entrance and exit to the school library, also shown above.

The central projecting bay on the south facade with its chromatic masonry treatment around the narrow, longitudinal windows with lead muntins and the sandstone crest and public school logo are just some of the elements that reflect the stylistic aspirations of the 1931 design.

Central Public School started its journey in the middle of the 19th century as Cornwall Public school, a brick and stone structure with 12 rooms constructed on a lot in the centre of a thriving town. 

It was one of the most impressive buildings of its time, alongside the new post office and the first high school. The physicality of the building has changed, but the true reasons for its being, and now its preservation, are the children who sat in the desks and the teachers who taught them. 

Among the notable graduates of Cornwall Public School were outstanding men such as the first Premier of Ontario, Hon John Sandfield  Macdonald; Chancellor of Upper Canada, Hon. Philip Vankoughnet; Sir John Beverly Robinson, Chief  Justice of Upper Canada and Sir James Pliny Whitney. 

The site where Central Public School was rebuilt, has had a school on the property, as early as 1816. In 1853-54 trustees obtained 740 pounds from town council to construct a new School. A brick house was constructed, two stories with two rooms on each floor.