Historic Sites of Manitoba: Devonshire Collegiate Institute / Devonshire School (Main Street, Selkirk)

Link to:
Principals | Vice-Principals | Teachers | Photos & Coordinates | Sources

Before 1920, high school classes were held in the Selkirk Central School building. The Devonshire Collegiate Institute building was constructed in 1920, at an estimated cost of $30,000, on a design by Winnipeg architect E. D. Tuttle. Built by contractor H. Sigurdson of Winnipeg, at the corner of Eaton Avenue and Main Street in Selkirk, the two-storey brick structure measured 74 feet by 54 feet. Its main floor had four classrooms, while a school board meeting room, library, and physical science laboratory were on a second floor. In the basement were domestic science and manual training rooms, and an assembly hall. It was opened officially at a ceremony held on 11 May 1920, attended by Robert Fletcher and W. A. McIntyre.

Around 1947, the Devonshire Collegiate building became an elementary school. A four-classroom extension designed by the architectural firm of Prain and Ward was made in 1954. The school closed at the end of the 1971 school year. The building was gutted that year and demolished in 1972. The site is now occupied by a shopping mall.

Principals (Devonshire Collegiate Institute, 1906-1947)

Period	Principal
1906-1922	Horace A. Stokes (1863-1944)
1922-1927	Bedford Almer Tingley (1879-1945)
1927-1932	J. N. Clark
1932-1947	Samuel Alfred Wright (1900-1966)
After 1947	See Selkirk Collegiate Institute

Principals (Devonshire School, 1947-1971)

Period	Principal
1947-1948	Cameron Earl Couling (1917-1976)
1949-1952	John Erle Outhwaite (1920-2018)
1952-1956	Casimir “Cas” Hollinger (1914-2001)
1956-?	?
?-?	Tony Maksymyk (1925-2007)

Teachers (Devonshire Collegiate Institute - partial list)

School Year	Teachers
1882-1883	Mr. Wall
1913-1914	Miss Dawson
1914-1915	Miss Scott
1920-1921	four teachers plus two special teachers: Miss Orr (domestic science), Mr. McIntosh (manual training)
1921-1922	Miss Dickinson, Mr. Law, Mr. Mackintosh, Miss Orr, Miss Pettingell, Mrs. Stokes
1932-1933	Miss M. Anderson, Miss C. Carson, Miss W. J. Fraser, Mrs S. S. Hall (Special Education), Ruth Willey
1933-1935	?
1935-1936	Margaret Anderson, Frederick Andrew Richard Justus, Miss F. J. Fraser, Mrs. S. S. Hall (Special Education), Ruth Willey
1936-1937	Margaret Anderson, Miss Mabel Fraser, Mrs. S. S. Hall (Special Education), Frederick Andrew Richard Justus, Albert Edward Reid
1937-1938	Margaret Anderson BA, Miss M. J. Fraser BA, Albert Edward Reid, J. M. Wilkie
1938-1939	?
1939-1940	Margaret Anderson, Anne Loutit, Charles A. Ursel, J. M. Wilkie
1940-1941	Margaret Anderson, Anne Loutit, Mr. J. K. McKay, Mr. B. F. Redmond, Charles A. Ursel
1941-1942	Margaret Anderson BA, Mr. V. Bonin BA, Anne Loutit, Mr. J. K. Mckay BA, Miss B. F. “Betty” Redmond BA, Charles A. Ursel
1942-1943	Margaret Anderson, Victor Bonin, Pauline E. McArthur, William Neufeld
1943-1944	Margaret Anderson, Pauline E. McArthur, Victor Bonin, Mr. C. H. Cardinal
1944-1945	Margaret Anderson, Victor Bonin, Pauline E. McArthur, L. Peto
1945-1946	Margaret Anderson, Victor Bonin, Mrs. W. E. Gordon, L. Peto
1946-1947	Margaret Anderson, L. Buelow, W. B. Deering, Miss M. Morris, Miss M. Tucker

Teachers (Devonshire School - partial list)

School Year	Teachers
1947-1948	Alda Jones, Miss A. Marchand, Miss V. McLeod, Mrs. E. B. Moody, Miss B. Taylor
1948-1949	Alda Jones, Mrs. E. B. Moody
1949-1950	Mrs. A. Browning, Adelmar Friesen, Alda Jones, Mrs. E. B. Moody, Stephanie Sawchuk
1950-1951	Mrs. A. Browning, Enid Cousins, Alda Jones, Mrs. E. B. Moody, Stephanie Sawchuk
1951-1952	Mrs. A. Browning, Mrs. A. Borody, Alda Jones, Mrs. E. B. Moody, Miss A. Patson
1952-1953	Alda Jones, B. McPhail, Mrs. E. B. Moody, Miss A. Patson, G. Wakeman
1953-1954	Mrs. W. Harriott, Alda Jones, Mrs. E. B. Moody, Mrs G. Wakeman, May Zook
1954-1955	Mrs. A. Browning (grade 7), Mrs. E. I. Dewar (grade 5), Miss A. V. Foster (grade 6), Casimir “Cas” Hollinger (grade 8), Alda Jones (grade 4), Miss M. A. Mandryk (grade 1), Miss V. A. Spencer (grade 2), M. M. Stefanchuk (grades 6 & 7), Miss G. Williamson (grade 3)
1955-1956	Mrs. A. Browning, Mrs. E. I. Dewar, Alda Jones, Miss Mandryk, Miss A. Pasiushenko, M. Miss V. A. Spencer, Stefanchuk, Miss M. M. Thatcher, Miss G. Williamson

Other teachers: Miss Cumming (grade 1), Miss Free (grade 2), Miss Kulpak (grade 3).

Photos & Coordinates

Devonshire Collegiate Institute (1919) Source: Archives of Manitoba, George Harris Fonds, Acc. 1979-141, P7446, Album 1, Page 55. Devonshire School (no date) Source: Andrew Cunningham Selkirk Central School at left with Devonshire School in the background (August 1937) Source: Archives of Manitoba, George Harris Fonds, Acc. 1979-141, P7453, Album 20, Page 46. Devonshire School (circa 1942) Source: Ken Howard Site Coordinates (lat/long): N50.14314, W96.87436 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Selkirk School No. 69 (Eaton Avenue, Selkirk)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Devonshire School No. 1865 (RM of Armstrong)

Personal Memoirs: Memories of Devonshire Collegiate Institute by Ken Howard, Shirley Howard Thompson, Claire Howard Lee, and Lou H. Howard

Sources:

“Selkirk’s collegiate institute now housed in new and spacious edifice,” Manitoba Free Press, 15 May 1920, page 45.

“Selkirk,” Manitoba Free Press, 31 August 1920, page 11.

“Interesting newsy items from Selkirk,” Winnipeg Free Press, 6 September 1921, page 4.

“Four Selkirk schools open for fall season,” Winnipeg Tribune, 20 September 1933, page 11.

“Many present as school goes in at Selkirk,” Winnipeg Tribune, 5 September 1935, page 3.

“Selkirk schools open,” Winnipeg Tribune, 3 September 1936, page 3.

“Teachers are named for Selkirk schools,” Winnipeg Tribune, 11 August 1937, page 2.

“One thousand pupils for Selkirk schools,” Winnipeg Free Press, 30 August 1939, page 2.

“Thousand to enroll in Selkirk schools,” Winnipeg Free Press, 29 August 1940, page 4.

“Schools of Selkirk to reopen Tuesday,” Winnipeg Free Press, 1 September 1941, page 3.

“Selkirk schools open,” Winnipeg Free Press, 2 September 1942, page 2.

“Schools to reopen in Selkirk Sept. 7,” Winnipeg Free Press, 26 August 1943, page 10.

“Selkirk schools to reopen Tuesday,” Winnipeg Tribune, 31 August 1944, page 3.

“Selkirk school staff engage for new term,” Winnipeg Free Press, 28 August 1945, page 19.

“Selkirk news,” Winnipeg Tribune, 23 August 1947, page 9.

“Selkirk school staff named,” Winnipeg Tribune, 31 August 1946, page 20.

“Selkirk schools re-open Monday,” Winnipeg Tribune, 27 August 1949, page 19.

“Selkirk schools have record teaching staff,” Winnipeg Free Press, 31 August 1950, page 23.

“Selkirk notes,” Winnipeg Free Press, 3 September 1951, page 11.

“Staffs named for schools at Selkirk,” Winnipeg Free Press, 28 August 1952, page 10.

“School Board lists teachers at Selkirk,” Winnipeg Free Press, 3 September 1953, page 8.

“Selkirk schools set teacher list,” Winnipeg Free Press, 28 August 1954, page 2.

“Devonshire School extension opening scheduled Wednesday,” Winnipeg Free Press, 22 October 1954, page 18.

“School starts Sept. 1 for Selkirk pupils,” Winnipeg Free Press, 26 August 1955, page 12.

“The Selkirk planning scheme 1965E,” Winnipeg Free Press, 16 August 1965, page 20.

We thank Randy Rostecki, Garth Reid, Wilma Hruden, Nancy Wasylnuk, and Nathan Kramer for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer, Ken Howard, and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 26 March 2021

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