A piece of Enniskillen history is about to be auctioned off and dismantled.

Township council recently decided to sell the Shiloh Community Centre. It will be up for auction Oct. 28 at 5 pm and one of the few conditions is that the building be taken down.

Mayor Kevin Marriott says it was a difficult decision to make because of the history of the building. It has stood at the corner since 1922 and served as the community’s school until 1968 when the Enniskillen system was centralized. Marriott was in the last Grade 1 class there.

Marriott says the hall was well used for family celebrations and community events up to 10 years ago but in the last few years that had tapered off to the point where only one group – a night hunting club – was using the hall on a regular basis.

While the building was in need of repair, the township kept it open for bookings even though it was cost about $2,500 a year for upkeep.

Township council decided it could no longer support the hall after the furnace in the building was condemned; replacing it would cost up to $6,000. “We couldn’t justify spending that much,” he says. “The expenses were far out weighing the income.”

So on Oct. 28, the building will be auctioned off and the new owner will have to remove the building. “Council is afraid it would become an eye sore,” says Marriott. “It is a condition of the sale that it will be torn down and that decision comes with a heavy heart.”

Marriott says if money were no object, council would have loved to preserve the old school house, but he says, that is just not realistic. He’s hoping a piece of the old school will be preserved to mark the spot.

“SS No 12 which is on the cement block near the doors – we want to somehow make that a marker somewhere at the corner to remember the school by.”

The money raised from the auction will go to help install new washrooms in the Oil City hall – a former church building.