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The Chapman School District was established formally in May 1913 and it operated a school near this site in the former Municipality of Charleswood, now a suburb of Winnipeg. The original school building was destroyed by fire in 1916. Its replacement, a three-room school, burned down on 23 April (Good Friday), 1943. Movable furniture and around 2,000 textbooks were spared from the flames by firefighters and local volunteers, including local K. Goodison who reportedly made 50 retrieval trips into the blazing building.
Following an affirming 175:44 vote by district residents, construction was undertaken by the Claydon Construction Company on a new Chapman School on the former building’s site. Excavation work for a full basement already underway by November 1943, and the cornerstone of the new six-room school was laid down before the years end. The brick and frame structure cost around $45,000 and was officially opened 30 September 1944, with noted attendees including Clifford Knox Rogers (Superintendent of Education), Harry Leader (MP), and H. A. Lowden (school trustee).
In 1951, it became part of Charleswood Consolidated School No. 2327, and in 1955, high school grades were transferred to the the newly opened Charleswood Collegiate. A commemorative plaque mounted on a rock at the northwest corner of the school’s property was dedicated in June 1993 by the Chapman School Parent Council. The school closed in June 2016, shortly after receiving an MHS Centennial Organization Award. As of early 2017, the building was under lease to the Westgate Mennonite School for use as temporary classroom space during a renovation project. In 2020, it was in use for a Sikh private school.
The building was demolished on 9 January 2025.
Period
Principal
1944-1951
Kristjan Bergthor Sigurdsson (1899-1990)
1951-1952
?
1952-1953
Archibald Martin “Archie” McNicholl (1907-1977)
1953-1955
Ernest Friesen Reimer (1909-1999)
After 1955
School Year
Teachers
1944-1945
Kristjan Bergthor Sigurdsson (grades 10-11)
1945-1946
Kristjan Bergthor Sigurdsson (grades 10-11)
1946-1947
Ralph Johnson (grade 9), Kristjan Bergthor Sigurdsson (grades 10-11)
1947-1948
Archibald Martin “Archie” McNicholl (grades 9-10), Kristjan Bergthor Sigurdsson (grade 11)
1948-1949
Archibald Martin “Archie” McNicholl (grades 9-10), Kristjan Bergthor Sigurdsson (grade 11)
1949-1950
Archibald Martin “Archie” McNicholl (grades 9-10), Kristjan Bergthor Sigurdsson (grade 11)
1950-1951
Irene Crofts (grades 10-11), Archibald Martin “Archie” McNicholl (grade 9), Kristjan Bergthor Sigurdsson (grades 10-11, 1950)
1951-1952
Irene Crofts (grade 10), Archibald Martin “Archie” McNicholl (grade 11), Ernest Friesen Reimer (grade 9)
1952-1953
James William Gold Aitchison (grade 9), Archibald Martin “Archie” McNicholl (grade 11), Ernest Friesen Reimer (grade 10)
1953-1954
James William Gold Aitchison (grade 10), James Robert Hodge Forrester (grade 9), Ernest Friesen Reimer (grade 11)
1954-1955
James William Gold Aitchison (grade 11), James Robert Hodge Forrester (grade 10), Beulah Beryl McNevin (grade 9), Elizabeth Lois Norquay (grade 9) Ernest Friesen Reimer (grade 9)
1955 on
Period
Principal
1934-1941
Hilda Grace Sparrow (1906-1999)
1941-1943
?
1943-1945
George Nelson Hawn (1913-1989)
1945-1954
?
1954-1955
Ernest Friesen Reimer (1909-1999)
1955-1956
Jemima Florence Webster
1956-1961
Constance Margaret Webster “Connie” Brooks (1915-1995)
1961-1964
John Vanderstoel (1933-2013)
1964-1967
Erdman “Ed” Kroeker (1930-2014)
1967-1969
?
1970
John Duchominsky (1906-1977)
1971-1972
Peter Douglas Powell
1972-1975
Paul L. Gluck
1975-1980
William David “Dave” Beer
1980-1984
Harry Herbert Galan (1922-2007)
1984-1993
G. Barry Nelin
1993-1995
Leslie Chale
1995-1999
Janet Taylor
1999-2003
Stan Wiebe
2003-2006
Brenda Lanoway
2006-?
Cyndy Stewart
?-?
Tim Mendel
?-2015
Tannis MacDonald
2015-2016
Lorraine de Moyne Barton
School Year
Teachers
1939-1940
Jessie Ellen Morton (grades 4-6), Hilda Grace Sparrow (grades 7-9), Constance Margaret “Connie” Webster (grades 1-3)
1940-1941
Jessie Ellen Morton (grades 4-6), Hilda Grace Sparrow (grades 7-9), Constance Margaret “Connie” Webster (grades 1-3)
1941-1942
Bernice Porterfield Brimmell (grades 7-9), Constance Margaret “Connie” Webster (grades 1-3), Kathleen Louise White (grades 4-6)
1942-1943
Bernice Porterfield Brimmell (grades 1-3), Jean Winnifred Gower Livingstone Lower (grades 5-6), Kathleen Louise White (grades 7-9)
1943-1944
Lillian Mae Mitchell (grades 1-2), Bernice Porterfield Brimmell (grades 3-4), George Nelson Hawn (grades 7-9), Jean Winnifred Gower Livingstone Lower (grades 5-6)
1944-1945
Bernice Porterfield Brimmell (grades 3-4), George Nelson Hawn (grades 8-9), Jean Winnifred Gower Livingstone Lower (grades 5-6), Jennie Elizabeth McKitrick (grades 1-2), Lillian Mae Mitchell (grade 7), John Charles Mizibrocky (grades 8-9)
1945-1946
Jean Winnifred Gower Livingstone Lower (grades 4-5, 1945), Jennie Elizabeth McKitrick (grade 1), Lillian Mae Mitchell (grades 6-8), John Charles Mizibrocky (grades 8-9), Eva May Pearson (grades 2-3), Clara Louise Thornton (grades 4-5, 1946)
1946-1947
Eva Eileen Duncan (grades 3-4), Elizabeth Jean Hunter (grade 1), Ralph Johnson (grade 9), Jennie Elizabeth McKitrick (grade 2), Lillian Mae Mitchell (grades 7-8), Clara Louise Thornton (grades 5-6)
1947-1948
Anna Elizabeth Fryer (grade 3), Elizabeth Jean Hunter (grade 1), Jennie Elizabeth McKitrick (grades 2-3), Lillian Mae Mitchell (grades 7-8), Thelma Rose Irene Osman (grades 3-4), Clara Louise Thornton (grades 5-6)
1948-1949
Phyllis Adeline Beaumont (grades 4-5), Elizabeth Jean Hunter (grade 1), Jennie Elizabeth McKitrick (grade 2), Lillian Mae Mitchell (grades 7-8), Clara Louise Thornton (grades 5-6), Nellye Mariette Wiens (grade 3)
1949-1950
Ruby Gladys Kathleen Gibson (grades 1 & 3), Elizabeth Jean Hunter (grade 1), Jennie Elizabeth McKitrick (grade 2), Lillian Mae Mitchell (grades 7-8), Dorothy Mary Sheldrake (grades 4-5), Nellye Mariette Wiens Smith (grade 3), Clara Louise Thornton (grades 5-6)
1950-1951
S. Margaret Cantelon (grades 1-2), Anne Edith Cott (grade 3), Eva Cook (grade 2), Mary Jean Irene Gunn (grade 4), Katherine Mary Madill (grade 1), Ernest Friesen Reimer (grades 7-8), Dorothy Mary Sheldrake (grades 4-5), Clara Louise Thornton (grades 5-6)
1951-1952
Virginia Dorothy Beatty Andrew (grade 7, 1951), S. Margaret Cantelon (grades 2-3), Christina Fraser (grade 2), Adelmar Friesen (grade 7, 1952), Ann Huch (grade 3), William Alfred McClymont (grade 8), Nellie McKenzie (grade 4), Katherine Mary Madill (grade 1), Dorothy Mary Sheldrake (grade 5), Clara Louise Thornton (grades 5-6)
1952-1953
Mary Badman (grades 3-4), Ruth Elizabeth Galbraith (grades 7-8), Katherine Mary Madill (grades 1-2), Dorothy Mary Sheldrake (grades 5-6)
1953-1954
Mary Badman (grades 3-4), Ruth Elizabeth Galbraith (grades 7-8), Katherine Mary Madill (grade 2), Dorothy Mary Sheldrake (grades 5-6), Joan Esmerilda Witaski (grade 1)
1954-1955
Mary Badman (grades 3-4), Ruth Elizabeth Galbraith (grades 7-8), Katherine Mary Madill (grades 1-2), Dorothy Mary Sheldrake (grades 5-6)
1955-1956
Mary Badman (grades 3-4), Ruth Elizabeth Galbraith (grade 8), Katherine Mary Madill (grade 2), Mary Charlotte Pinn McLachlan (grade 1), Jemima Florence Webster (grade 7), Harold William Winlaw (grades 5-6)
1956-1957
Constance Margaret Webster “Connie” Brooks (grade 5), Beatrice Arnetta Connon (grade 1), Mary Badman (grade 4), Elsie Dugard (grade 3), Katherine Mary Madill (grade 2)
1957-1958
Marilyn Anderson (grade 3), Constance Margaret Webster “Connie” Brooks (grade 6), Beatrice Arnetta Connon (grade 1), Mary Badman (grade 4), Arthur H. Juttner (grade 5), Katherine Mary Madill (grade 2)
1958-1959
Mary Badman (grade 4), Janice Barr (grade 2), Constance Margaret Webster “Connie” Brooks (grade 6), Beatrice Arnetta Connon (grade 1), Margaret Louise Sumner Kuharski (grade 3), Viola Evelyn Rankin (grade 5)
1959-1960
Shirley Jean Abbey (grade 6), Eileen Appleton (grade 5), Constance Margaret Webster “Connie” Brooks (grade 7), Janice Helen Cavers (grade 2), Beatrice Arnetta Connon (grade 1), Margaret Louise Sumner Kuharski (grade 3), Joanne Elizabeth Sweeney (grade 4)
1960-1961
Shirley Jean Abbey (grade 6), Phyllis Helena Briefcliffe (grade 2, 1961), Constance Margaret Webster “Connie” Brooks (grade 7), Janice Helen Cavers (grade 2), Beatrice Arnetta Connon (grade 1), Margaret Louise Sumner Kuharski (grade 3), Joanne Elizabeth Sweeney (grade 4), John W. F. Tober (grade 5)
1961-1962
Clayton Brian “Clay” Bottrell (grade 5), Beatrice Arnetta Connon (grade 1), Margaret Louise Sumner Kuharski (grade 3), Margaret Anne MacDonald (grade 2), Joanne Elizabeth Sweeney (grade 4), John VanderStoel (grade 6)
1962-1963
Clayton Brian “Clay” Bottrell (grade 5), Joanne Elizabeth Sweeney Burke (grade 4), Beatrice Arnetta Connon (grade 1), Margaret Louise Sumner Kuharski (grade 3), John VanderStoel (grade 6), Gladys Lillian Vigfusson (grade 2)
1963-1964
Clayton Brian “Clay” Bottrell (grade 5), Joanne Elizabeth Sweeney Burke (grade 4), Charlene Barbara Ferris (grade 1), Erdman “Ed” Kroeker (grade 6), Margaret Louise Sumner Kuharski (grade 3), Patricia Dianne Mann (grade 3), Barbara Lenore Ploner (grade 2)
1964-1965
Joanne Elizabeth Sweeney Burke (grade 5), Charlene Barbara Ferris (grade 1), Erdman “Ed” Kroeker (grade 6), Patricia Dianne Mann (grade 3), Lori Ann Miller (grade 4), Barbara Lenore Ploner (grade 2)
1965-1966
Joanne Elizabeth Sweeney Burke (grade 5), Charlene Barbara Edgeworth (grade 1), Erdman “Ed” Kroeker (grade 6), Patricia Dianne Mann (grade 3), Lori Ann Miller (grade 4), Barbara Lenore Ploner (grade 2)
1966-1967
Joanne Elizabeth Sweeney Burke (grade 5), Erdman “Ed” Kroeker (grade 6), Patricia Dianne Mann (grade 3), Karen Lorraine Moffatt (grade 1), Barbara Lenore Ploner (grade 2), Lori Ann Miller Regnier (grade 4)
1967-1968
Karen Lorraine Moffatt
1968-1969
Mrs. Braun, Miss Patzia[?], ? (other grades)
1969-1970
Mrs. Nuttall, ?
1970-1971
Mrs. Koshuluk, ?
1971-1972
Peter Douglas Powell, ?
1972-1973
?
1973-1974
?
1974-1975
?
1975-1976
?
1976-1977
Mrs. Graham (grade 4), ?
1977-1978
Mr. Ted Mickaniec (grade 5), ?
1978-1979
?
1979-1980
?
1980-1981
?
1981-1982
?
1982-1983
?
1983-1984
?
1984-1985
Ms. Andrew, ?
1985-1986
Miss Elaine Hansen, ?
1986-1987
Mr. Weber, ?
1987-1988
Miss Shawna Bradley, ?
1989-1990
Miss Shawna Bradley, Mrs. MacGregor, ?
1990-1991
Miss Shawna Bradley, Mrs. Kozak, ?
1991-1992
Miss Shawna Bradley, Mrs. Jaeger, ?
1992-1993
Miss Shawna Bradley, Mrs. Karen Kroft, ?
1993-1994
Miss Shawna Bradley, ?
1994-1995
Miss Shawna Bradley, ?
1995-1996
Mr. Ted Mickaniec, ?
1996-1997
?
1997-1998
?
1998-1999
?
1999-2000
?
2000-2001
?
2001-2002
?
2002-2003
?
2003-2004
?
2004-2005
?
2005-2006
?
2006-2007
?
2007-2008
?
2008-2009
?
2009-2010
?
2010-2011
?
2011-2012
?
2012-2013
?
2013-2014
?
2014-2015
?
2015-2016
?
The original Chapman School building (no date)
Source: Len Van Roon
The Chapman School building after expansion (no date)
Source: Len Van Roon
A classroom inside Chapman School (no date)
Source: Len Van Roon
Chapman School (June 2020)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Chapman School playground commemorative plaque (2010)
Plaque Location (lat/long): 49.87002, W97.26197
Source: City of WinnipegSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.86851, W97.26196
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: George Thomas Chapman (1861-1940)
“Along the home front [Chapman School],” Winnipeg Free Press, 1 May 1943, page 3.
“Vote to replace burned school,” Winnipeg Tribune, 19 October 1943, page 13.
“Building has already begun on new Chapman School,” Winnipeg Free Press, 9 November 1943, page 16.
“Cadet Corps inspected at Tuxedo on Friday,” Winnipeg Free Press, 19 May 1944, page 2.
“New Chapman School attractively designed,” Winnipeg Free Press, 20 September 1944, page 2.
“Will attend opening of new Chapman School,” Winnipeg Free Press, 27 September 1944, page 3.
“Charleswood’s new school opened,” Winnipeg Tribune, 3 October 1944, page 3.
“H. McIntosh addresses Home and School group,” Winnipeg Free Press, 12 April 1945, page 2.
“Charleswood … Then and Now” by Brian Tinley, Oakwood: Charleswood Collegiate Yearbook, 1955-1956, page 36 [Charleswood School Library].
Information for this page was provided by The City of Winnipeg’s Planning, Property and Development Department, which acknowledges the contribution of the Government of Manitoba through its Heritage Grants Program.
“Charleswood lists teachers,” Winnipeg Free Press, 6 September 1954, page 3.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Chapman School District No. 1677 - Daily Registers, GR10356, Archives of Manitoba.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Charleswood Consolidated School District No. 2327 (Chapman School) - Daily Registers, GR10356, Archives of Manitoba.
School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.
Obituary [Jessie Ellen Morton], Winnipeg Free Press, 17 May 1995, page 34.
We thank Len Van Roon, Jill Paskewitz, Alan Mason, Steven Christianson, Ted Fransen, Karen McCreary, Don Cochrane, David Beer, Margaret Stimson, Ted Fransen, and Christopher Graham for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 2 March 2025
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