It replaced an earlier log schoolhouse and became officially known as "The Mount Hanley School Section No.

Slocum learned to read and write at the school, attending until he was eight years old when his family moved to Brier Island in 1854.

His life epitomizes courage, determination honesty and the strength to live his dreams, squarely facing the challenges to achieve success.

In his own words, “To succeed in anything at all, one should go understandingly about his work and be prepared for every emergency.” The Joshua Slocum Centennial Society of Nova Scotia to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of his epic voyage around the world in 1895 placed a memorial at the Schoolhouse Museum.

On June 1, 2005, the Mount Hanley and District Schoolhouse Museum Society was formed to continue to preserve the building and keep it open to the public.

The building is regarded as one of the earliest and best-preserved examples of the standard school design developed by William Dawson.

The provincial education pioneer, who later became a noted geologist and president of McGill University, carefully researched school design.

The Mount Hanley school faithfully reflects Dawson's principles and stands as a little-changed early example of a design that was later built in countless other Maritime communities.