Historic Sites of Manitoba: Elk Park School / Firdale School No. 866 (Firdale, Municipality of North Cypress-Langford)

Known as Elk Park School when it was established in November 1895, in what is now the Municipality of North Cypress-Langford, its name was changed to Firdale School around 1918 when a new school was built at this site in Firdale, the location having been about 0.5 mile to the south. The school burned down in 1928 and, for some months, classes were held in a vacant house. A new buildng was constructed in 1929 using brick from the nearby Edrans brickyard. The district became part of the Beautiful Plains School Division. The school closed in 1966 and remaining students were bused to schools at Sidney, Austin, MacGregor, or Carberry. The former school building, still situated on the original tree-lined playground, is now a private residence.

The teachers who worked at Firdale School included E. S. Wage (1896), Jerminia E. Tait (1897-1898), John Houston (1899), E. MacLean (1899), Harvey A. Simms (1900), Frances L. Carr (1901), Kate Rankin (1905-1906), Ruby Philip (1906), Pearl Dalzell (1907-1908), Mabel Richardson (1908-1909), Beulah S. Elderkin (1909-1910), Kathleen Coppinger (1910-1911), Mabel Peck (1912), Annie Stewart (1913), V. Pallister (1913), Catherine Duncan (1913), Marion McLaren (1914), Agnes Judge (1915), A. E. Harris (1915), McCarthy (1915), Mary G. McCarthy (1916-1917), Iva Stevens (1918), Norah K. O’Neil (1918), Mary I. Hunter (1919-1924), Jean Hood (1924-1926), Gladys E. Morcombe (1927-1929), Edna M. McIntosh (1930), Beatrice M. Quilliams (1930-1931), Annie Junette McLachlan (1931-1934), Agnes McCormick (1934-1936), Margaret McDonald (1936), Margaret J. Scott (1937-1940), Gertrude V. I. Ruccius (1941-1942), Kathleen I. Smith (1942-1943), Eleanor B. Montgomery (1943-1944), Winnifred Isobel Evans (1944-1945), Mrs. Annie J. Manns (1945-1946), Phyllis R. Lane (1946-1947), Evelyn M. Hay (1947-1948), Edith L. McLeod (1948-1949), Mrs. Neil Macdonald (1949-1950), Mrs. A. M. Tiny (1950), Dorothy R. Legg (1950-1951), Florence L. Schneider (1951-1952), Mildred Hammersley (1952-1953), Marjorie M. Williams (1953-1954), Annie J. Manns (1954-1960), and Annie Lamb (1960-1966).

Firdale’s first school, built in 1883 (no date) Source: The Carberry Plains: 75 Years of Progress. [Manitoba Legislative Library, F5648.C36 Car] The second Firdale School, built around 1918 (no date) by A. B. Fallis Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-2, page 14. The third Firdale School, built in 1929 (no date) by A. B. Fallis Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-2, page 14. The former Firdale School building (circa 1986) Source: Historic Resources Branch, Public School Buildings Inventory, slide 870. The former Firdale School building (June 2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough The former Firdale School building (March 2021) Source: Rose Kuzina Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.98204, W99.11094 denoted by symbol on the map above

Sources:

The Carberry Plains: 75 Years of Progress. [Manitoba Legislative Library, F5648.C36 Car]

A Rear View Mirror: A History of the Austin and Surrounding Districts by Anne M. Collier, Altona: Friesen Printing, 1967.

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.

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

Schoolhouse Memories edited by Donna Gamache, May 2008.

We thank Donald Carlson and Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 24 July 2021

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