Known at the time of its establishment in February 1893 as Willow Range School, and situated in the southeast quarter of 23-11-4 west of the Principal Meridian in the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie, a new schoolhouse was financed via a $4,500 debenture in May 1920 following a local ratepayer vote that month of seven for to zero opposed.
On 4 June 1920, the district’s name was formally changed to Fortier School by resolution of the Department of Education, thereby aligning the district name with that of the surrounding community. In 1938, the building was torn off its foundation by a tornado so it was demolished and a larger school replaced it. The school closed in 1966 and was consolidated into Oakville School. The building was later used as a grain-cleaning plant.
Some of the teachers who worked at Willow Range School / Fortier School included C. M. Ferguson (Fall 1893 - Fall 1894), Mr. Balford (?-?), Frances L. Carr (Spring 1895 - Fall 1898), Louisa [Louise] Jane Lough (Spring 1899 - Fall 1900), Howard L. Irvine (Spring-Fall 1901), records not available (Spring 1902 - Fall 1904), Alice A. Jones (pt Spring 1905, Fall 1905 - Spring 1906, Fall 1907 - Spring 1908), Edith Armstrong (pt Spring 1905), Mary Louise Kletzky (Fall 1906 - Spring 1907), Jessie C. Ewing (Fall 1908 - Spring 1909), Eleanor Crake (Fall 1909 - Fall 1911), Mary V. Woods (Spring-Fall 1912), Annie M. Townsley (Spring-Fall 1913), Lavina Morgan (Spring 1914), Florence Olney Lewis (Fall 1914 - Spring 1916), Florence M. Beam (Fall 1916 - Spring 1918, Spring 1919), Margaret M. Maxwell (Fall 1918), Sara Josephine Cameron (Fall 1919 - Spring 1920), Irene Govier Tucker (Fall 1920), Eleanor Newton (?-?), Lila Trimble (?-?), and Ruth Whyte (1934-1939).
Original Fortier School building (no date) by A. B. Fallis
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 118.
Second Fortier School building (1968)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, Architectural Survey - Fortier 3.
Sketch of the second Fortier School building by Charlotte Jones
Source: University Women’s Club of Portage la Prairie.
Fortier School commemorative sign (September 2010)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.93406, W97.91636
denoted by symbol on the map above
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.
Rural Schools of Portage la Prairie School Division #24 by Muriel Wright, 1996.
Summative half-yearly returns for school districts (A 0051), GR0571, Archives of Manitoba.
Corporate Security registered documents (ATG 0089), #32 School District of Fortier, GR12576, Archives of Manitoba.
School division and school district formation files (E 0027), Willow Range School District No. 741, GR1688, Archives of Manitoba.
School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 23 November 2023
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