Historic Sites of Manitoba: Clifford School No. 804 (RM of Riding Mountain West)

The Clifford School District was organized formally in December 1893, named for local resident Albert Clifford Tibbatts, the first boy born in the district. A one-room schoolhouse was erected on the southwest quarter of 16-19-27 west of the Principal Meridian in what is now the Rural Municipality of Riding Mountain West. The original building was replaced in 1917 and the old structure was moved across the road and a short distance west, where it remained for several years. It was then moved to the Tibbatts family farm where it was, as of the 1980s, still being used as a private residence.

The school closed in June 1945 and the remaining students went to Binscarth Consolidated School No. 2326. The building was moved to Binscarth where it was renovated into a private residence. A monument erected in 1968 commemorates it at the original site.

The early teachers of Clifford School included Mr. Sydney Mates (1893), Miss Yondel, Mr. Markele, Mr. Watson, Mr. Lorie, Mr. Burke, Agnes M. Vanens (1908), G. I. Ward (1908), and Alice R. Watson (1908). Teachers after 1912 were Miss McKenzie, Miss Winston, Mr. Schrieder, Miss McDonald, Miss Vandicar, Miss Angus, Miss Singleton, Miss Hanna, Miss Eva Diamond, Margaret Thompson (1919), Elizabeth Bartle (1920), Mr. A. J. Blair (1920), Miss C. Marguerite “Marg” Stewart (1922-1923), Melba E. Ross (1923-1925), Janet Isabelle Hall (1925-1929), Sarah May McMurray (1929-1933), Donna Marie Lougheed (1926-1939), Gladys L. Thomson (1940-1941), Myrtle Elaine McAskill (1941-1942), Eva Menzies Fallis (1942-1944), and Miss L. McTavish (1944-1945).

The original Clifford School, opened in 1893 (no date) Source: Lidcliff Reflections, 1881-1982 The second Clifford School, built in 1917 (no date) by G. W. Bartlett Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-2, page 3. Clifford School commemorative monument (June 2012) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Coordinates (lat/long): N50.62397, W101.17165 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Lidcliff Hall Monument (RM of Riding Mountain West)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Silver Creek Centennial Monument (Angusville, RM of Riding Mountain West)

Sources:

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.

Lidcliff Reflections, 1881-1982 by the Lidcliff History Club, circa 1982.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Clifford School District No. 804 Daily Registers, GR2061, Archives of Manitoba.

We thank Nathan Kramer for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 13 February 2021

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