The Dry River School District was formally established in May 1885. The first teacher was Miss Thring of Belmont and classes were held in the home of William Robinson until a school building was erected at NW22-4-12W in the Rural Municipality of Argyle. The school closed in June 1958 and the remaining students went to Mariapolis Consolidated School No. 2372. The district was dissolved in January 1959 and its catchment area became part of the Mountain School Division. The former school building was moved to 15-4-13W where it was renovated into a house. A monument commemorates it at the original site. Atop the monument is a small replica of the school made by Archie Richmond.
The teachers of Dry River School were Miss Thring (1885-1887), Miss Wright (1888), Miss Armstrong (1888-1891), Miss Mary Fraser (1892), W. A. Cluff (1893), Mr. Houston (1893-1895), Mary Richardson (1896, 1900-1901), Miss Grant (1896-1897), Miss Playfair (1897), Mr. A. D. Sproule (1898-1900), Miss Gillispie (1901), Miss Clark (1902-1903), Sidney Clarq (1903-1904), Miss M. McCreary (1904), Miss Gardiner (1905), Miss Stedman (1906), Miss Staples (1906-1907), Walter Tisdale (1908, 1909-1910), H. W. Hall (1908-1909), Miss T. Hansen (1910), Mr. R. Yeo (1910-1911), H. E. Harris (1911-1912), Mr. Smith (1912-1913), Miss E. Harrison (1913-1915), R. G. Askin (1915), Miss Sedore (1916), A. M. Pettem (1916), Miss H. Patterson (1917-1918), Miss N. Thomas (1918-1919), Miss J. Keith (1919-1920), Miss Jardine (1920, 1923), Miss Fraser (1920), Miss Thomas (1921), Miss Helem (1921-1923), Miss Greenway (1923), Clifford G. Williamson (1923-1924), Miss Fraser (1924), Miss D. Robinson (1925), Miss M. B. Goodwin (1926-1927), J. Forbes (1927), Miss McRae (1928), Grace Graham (1928-1930), Rose Murphy (1930-1933), Juliette Lussier (1933-1939), Marie Hybreck (1939-1940), Miss Conrad (1940-1944), Mrs. Rosaire Lussier (1944-1945), Miss Alice Del (1945-1946), Miss Denise Chevalier (1946-1949), Miss Allerie (1949), Toni Lussier (1949-1953), Mrs. Toni Landry (1953-1955), Lorette Desrochers (1955-1956), and Joan Forester (1956-1958).
Dry River School (no date) by G. H. Robertson
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 42.
Dry River School commemorative sign (October 2011)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.31061, W99.01939
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Baldur District Schools (RM of Argyle)
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.
Memories of Dry River by May Graham [Pembina Manitou Archive].
“The history of Dry River School District No. 339” by Christina McQuarrie, typewritten document at Dry River School cairn, October 2011.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 22 January 2021
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