Historic Sites of Manitoba: Centreville School No. 606 (RM of Victoria)

The Centreville School District was established formally in May 1889 and a one-room schoolhouse operated in the southeast quarter of 6-8-10 west of the Principal Meridian in the Rural Muncipality of Victoria. Its name was based on its location mid-way between Treherne and Holland. A building was constructed the next year, at a cost of $600, on an acre of land leased from local farmer Frank Seibert. The school closed in January 1959 and the students were bused to Treherne Consolidated School No. 537 or Holland Consolidated School No. 393.

In March 1960, the Centreville School building was moved to the Manitoba Agricultural Museum, along with a plaque commemorating students on Centreville School who were killed during the First World War, and school registers for several years. In 1995, a monument at its former site was dedicated to the pioneers, school trustees, teachers, and students of the district.

Among the teachers of Centreville School were Susie Hall (1895), Frank Mayers (1895), John Burns (1898), Muriel Frame (1903), Agnes Jamieson (1905), Hanna Staples (1906), Isabelle A. Lane (1906-1907), A. L. Mooney (1907), Mabel M. McCreary (1908-1909), Elmah J. Staples (1910), M. C. Carrothers (1912-1913), L. Luella Staples (1914), Rita L. McBratney (1915), Mary E. Wright (1916-1917), Marjorie Charters (1918), M. Melissa Lee (1918-1919), Magdalene M. Straube (1921-1925), Harriett Scarlett (1940-1942), Doreen Watson (1948-1949), Fay A. Dixon (1950-1952), Gwenda Higgs (1952-1953), Susan McKee (1954), Adele Znamirowsky (1954-1955), and Doris G. Atkinson (1958).

Centreville School (no date) by G. H. Robertson Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 96. The former Centreville School building at the Manitoba Agricultural Museum (July 2017) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Commemorative plaque for students of Centreville School killed during the First World War (July 2023) Source: Glen Toews Centreville School commemorative monument (September 2010) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.62098, W98.80206 denoted by symbol on the map above

First World War Casualities

Name	Occupation	Service	Rank	Birth Date	Death Date
William James Biglow [Holland]	Farmer	8th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	22 September 1893	28 April 1917
Arthur Wesley Down [Holland]	College Student	78th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	21 April 1894	13 April 1917
John Gordon Lovie [Agricultural College, Holland]	Farmer	Borden’s Motor Machine Gun Battery, Canadian Machine Gun Corps	Private	11 January 1896	24 March 1918
Walter Youds [Holland]	Farmer	8th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	16 February 1893	28 April 1917

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Agricultural Museum (Austin, Municipality of North Norfolk)

Sources:

Tiger Hills to the Assiniboine: A History of Treherne and Surrounding District by Treherne Area History Committee, 1976, pages 44-46.

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.

Manitoba Agricultural Museum: 25 Years of Progress by Penny Ham, 1981, pages 117-121.

A Study of Public School Buildings in Manitoba by David Butterfield, Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Department of Culture, Heritage and Tourism, 1994, 230 pages.

School registers [Centreville School No. 606], Manitoba Agricultural Museum.

We thank Glen Toews for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Darryl Toews.

Page revised: 15 July 2023

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