The Byng School District was established formally in February 1919, probably named in commemoration of First World War military officer Julian H. G. Byng (1862-1935) who served as the Canadian Governor General from 1921 to 1926. A school building operated on the southern corner of the southwestern quarter of 16-32-8 west of the Principal Meridian in what is now the Rural Municipality of Grahamdale. In addition to serving the educational needs of the community, the school was also the site for local meetings, Sunday School, picnics, dances, and school concerts. The longest-serving teacher was Edgar Mackrell, who taught from 1925 to 1947.
Due to lack of student enrollment, the school closed in 1947 then reopened in 1952 and closed permanently in 1960. On 1 January 1979, its district was consolidated with other schools in the area to form the Frontier School Division No. 48 and students attended a new school in the village of Gypsumville. The former school building is no longer present at the site but a stone monument commemorates it.
Among the teachers of Byng School was Edgar Thomas Hegan Mackrell (1933-1936).
Byng School (no date) by J. H. Plewes
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-3, page 65.
Byng School commemorative monument (August 2012)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N51.74060, W98.53473
denoted by symbol on the map above
School Trustee Files [Byng School District No. 1948], GR1629, H-14-1-7, Archives of Manitoba.
One Hundred Years in the History of the Rural Schools of Manitoba: Their Formation, Reorganization and Dissolution (1871-1971) by Mary B. Perfect, MEd thesis, University of Manitoba, April 1978.
We thank Nathan Kramer for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 11 September 2023
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