Historic Sites of Manitoba: Birtle Indian Residential School (Birtle, Municipality of Prairie View)

The first facility at Birtle used for the education of Aboriginal children, in what is known now as the Municipality of Prairie View, was known as the “Stone School”. Built in 1882, it was situated two blocks west of the Main Street bridge. Originally built as a school for the children of Birtle, Mayor J. S. Crawford persuaded the federal government in 1890 to lease the building as a boarding school for Aboriginal children from surrounding reserves. They used it for a year or two then town children returned to the Stone School until it burned on 20 November 1895.

In 1894, a dedicated Indian Residential School was built at this site, on a hill overlooking Birtle. A pile of gray stones from its foundation are visible down the hill from the brick building constructed nearby between 1930 and 1931 by the Claydon Brothers Construction Company of Winnipeg. Children were taught agricultural methods at a model farm located at the school. Operated originally by the Presbyterian Church in Canada, responsibility for the facility transferred to the Canadian government in March 1969. It closed in 1972 and the main building has been bought and sold a few times. Part of it was renovated for use as a residence and there were plans to develop a cultural centre there, but the building sat vacant for several years.

The building and property were sold in mid-2016 and visits to the site are not permitted.

Principals

Period	Principal
1889-1894	G. G. McLaren
1895	Neil Gilmour
1896-1901	W. J. Small
1902	W. McWhinney
1903-1905	E. H. Crawford
1905-1913	W. W. McLaren
1913-1916	David Iverach (1871-1946)
1916-1921	Mrs. S. Marshall
1922-1927	Rev. F. E. Pitts
1927-1933	Rev. H. B. Currie
1933-1941	Rev. E. H. Lockhart (1872-1952)
1941-1942	Mr. Albert E. Candy (Acting)
1942-1945	Roy Webb
1945-1970	Norman Martin Rusaw (1912-1979)

Teachers

School Year	Teachers
1945-1946	Art Frost (grades 3,4), Lillian Hamilton (grades 1,2), May Kenny (grades 5,6)
1946-1947	Mrs. Dean (grades 5-8), Wilma Fisher (grades 1,2), Art Frost (grades 3,4)
1947-1948	Mrs. Dean (grades 1,2), Art Frost (grades 3,4), May Kenny (grades 5-8)
1948-1949	Jean Haacke (grades 1,2), May Kenny (grades 5-8), Eileen Wainman (grades 3,4)
1949-1950	Jean Haacke (grades 1,2), May Kenny (grades 5-8), Eileen Wainman (grades 3,4)
1950-1951	Jean Haacke (grades 1,2), May Kenny (grades 7,8), Canute Storogard (grades 3,4), Eileen Wainman (grades 5,6)
1951-1952	Mabel Cooper (grade 9), Jean Haacke (grades 1,2), May Kenny (grades 5-8), Orma McTaggart (grades 3,4), Eileen Wainman (grade 9)
1952-1953	Mabel Cooper (grades 10-12), Esther Heinricks (grades 1-3), May Kenny (grade 4-6), Harry Shafransky (grades 7-9)
1953-1954	Mabel Cooper (grades 10-12), Mavis Dillon (grades 1-3), Kenneth Gardner (grade 9), May Kenny (grades 6-8), Eleanor Vawter (grades 4,5)
1954-1955	Mabel Cooper (grades 8-10), Mr. Harshaw (grades 7-9), Irene Joli (grades 1,2), May Kenny (grades 5,6), Astrid Solbrekhen (grades 1,2), Eleanor Vawter (grades 3,4)
1955-1956	Miss Dyeck (grades 3,4), Mr. Glasier (grade 9), M. Glidden (grades 5,6), May Kenny (grades 7,8), Astrid Solbrekhen (grades 1,2), Edith Spencer (grades 5,6)
1956-1957	Georgina Butcher (grades 5,6), Mr. Glasier (grade 9), May Kenny (grades 7,8), Astrid Solbrekhen (grades 1,2), Norah Sullivan (grades 3,4)
1957-1958	Georgina Butcher (grades 5,6), Mrs. Catt (grades 1,2), May Kenny (grades 7,8), Leslie Porteous (grade 9), Norah Sullivan (grades 3,4)
1958-1959	Georgina Butcher (grades 5,6), Mrs. Catt (grades 1,2), May Kenny (grades 7,8), Leslie Porteous (grade 9), Thelma Smith (grades 3,4)
1959-1960	I. Allison (grades 6,7), Eva Ferguson (grade 1), May Kenny (grades 8,9), Verna J. Kirkness (grades 4,5), Thelma Smith (grades 2,3)
1960-1961	May Kenny (grade 8), Verna J. Kirkness (grades 6,7), Donna Mack (grades 1,2), Mrs. McColl (grades 5,6), Thelma Smith (grades 3,4)
1961-1962	Georgina Butcher (grades 5,6), May Kenny (grades 7,8), Donna Mack (grades 1,2), Thelma Smith (grades 3,4)
1962-1963	May Kenny (grades 5,6), Joyce Simms (grade 5), Thelma Smith (grade 4)
1963-1964	May Kenny (grades 4,7), Thelma Smith (grade 5)
1964-1965	May Kenny (grades 4,5,8)
1965-1966	May Kenny (grades 5,8)
1966-1967	May Kenny (grade 6), Mrs. Evelyn Parton (grade 5)
1967-1968	May Kenny (grade 6), Mrs. Evelyn Parton (grade 5)
1968-1970	?

Photos & Maps

Postcard of Birtle Indian Residential School (circa 1908) Source: Rob McInnes Birtle Indian Residential School (no date) Source: The Presbyterian Church in Canada Archives, G-377-MC Aerial view of Birtle Indian Residential School (no date) Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2011-0036 Postcard of Birtle Indian Residential School (1931) Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2017-0005 Postcard of Birtle Indian Residential School (no date) Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2015-0101 Front view of Birtle Indian Residential School (May 2011) Source: Matea Tuhtar Rear view of Birtle Indian Residential School (May 2011) Source: Matea Tuhtar Interior of the Birtle Indian Residential School (June 2012) Source: Gordon Goldsborough One-room schoolhouse on the grounds of the Birtle Indian Residential School (June 2012) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Interior of the one-room schoolhouse (June 2012) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Location (lat/long): N50.43191, W101.04183 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Brandon Indian Residential School (RM of Cornwallis)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Brandon Indian Residential School Cemetery (RM of Cornwallis)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Brandon Old Indian Residential School Cemetery (Brandon)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Birtle Indian Residential School (Birtle, Municipality of Prairie View)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Elkhorn Indian Residential School (Elkhorn, RM of Wallace-Woodworth)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: MacKay Indian Residential School (Opaskwayak Cree Nation)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Portage la Prairie Indian Residential School (Crescent Road West, Portage la Prairie)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Pine Creek Indian Residential School / Camperville Indian Residential School (Pine Creek First Nation)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Norway House Indian Residential School (Norway School)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Julia Clark School (611 Academy Road, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Birtle Consolidated School No. 132 (Birtle)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Abandoned Manitoba

Sources:

“Birtle brevities,” Manitoba Free Press, 25 April 1890, page 5.

A View of the Birdtail: A History of the Municipality of Birtle, 1878-1974 by Marion Abra, Birtle, 1974, page 169.

“Passing It On”, RM and Town of Birtle History, 1884-2009, RM of Birtle, 2009.

A Brief Administrative History of the Residential Schools and The Presbyterian Church in Canada’s Healing and Reconciliation Efforts, The Presbyterian Church in Canada, page 8.

We thank Margaret Ashcroft, Nancy Evans, Matea Tuhtar, Rob McInnes, Michelle Kortinen, Nathan Hasselstrom (Birdtail Country Museum), Kim Arnold (The Presbyterian Church in Canada Archives), and Ed Ledohowski for providing information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 18 February 2017

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