Formally established as a school district in June 1883, a log schoolhouse was built in 1888 on the southeast corner of 24-15-4 west of the Principal Meridian in the Rural Municipality of Woodlands. In 1898, that school was replaced by a frame structure on this site. For 30 years, it was the centre for church, entertainment, and education in the area. The school closed in 1967 and its catchment area became part of the White Horse Plains School Division. The building was sold for use as a private summer dwelling and it remained in use as of 2019. A plaque at the school site was erected in 2006 to commemorate local pioneers.
Among the teachers of Lake Francis School were Frederick B. Calvert (1883-1884), Miss Shafer (1884-1886), Miss Ida Niblock (1884-1886), Arnold W. Bowen (1888-1889), Robert Williams (1889-1891), Edith Roberts (1892), W. G. Bend (1893-1894), W. G. Speke (1895), William J. Small (1895), R. D. Bruce (1895-1896), Emily Thornton (1896-1897), Martha J. McGaw (1898), Minnie M. Thompson (1898-1899), Hannah I. Clark (1899-1890), John M. McMillan (1900-1901), Harriet E. M. Henderson (1901-1903), Mary Layton (1903-1904), Harriet Henderson (1904), Hattie Brownlee (1905-1906), Bertha Lillies (1906), Maurice C. T. Percival (1907-1908), Vivian H. Durden (1909-1910), Annie Armstrong (1910), S. A. Kitchen (1910), Sarah Connelly (1911-1912), Grace Patterson (1912-1913), Sarah Connelly (1913-1915), Cora Manley (1915), Ellen Lee (1916-1917), E. C. Keating (1918), Margaret Mansfield (1919), Pearl Stewart (1919-1920), Adelaide Thomas (1920-1921), Lily Corbin (1921-1922), Isabella Robertson (1922-1925), Jessie McNeil (1925-1926), Miss Dudley (1926), Beth Cruikshank (1926), Muriel Gibson (1926-1927), Emma Moore (1927-1929), Audrey Groves (1929-1930), J. W. A. Muirhead (1930), Isabel G. Hoyes (1930-1931), Verna L. Blackford (1931), Isabel G. Hoyes (1931), Marion Wilkes (1931-1933), George Greenaway (1933-1936), Ina Harris (1936-1938), Myrtle Rusenel (1938-1941), Marion Struthers (1941-1942), Una Robertson (1942-1943), Tom Rothwell (1943-1944), Alice Puddicombe (1944-1945), Bertha Drury (1945-1946), Elizabeth McFee (1946), Jean V. Oades (1946-1947), Cecile Grandmont (1947-1948), Reid Hines (1948), Jeanette Howey (1948), John Adams (1949), Edith Hanover (1949), Treva Cook (1949-1950), Stephanie Medock (1950-1951), Agnes Johnson (1951-1952), Helene Balan (1952-1953), Elmer Beddome (1953-1955), Marie Solvason (1955-1956), Doris Frediuk (1956-1957), Betty Falk (1957-1958), Ruth Gee (1958), Yoshimi Kowata (1958-1959), Gloria A. Ledochowski (1959-1960), J. Sinclair (1960), Jeanette Semenchuk (1961-1962), Lawrence Schreyer (1962-1964), M. Gentes (1964), Irene Eckhardt (1964-1965), Nettie Derksen (1965-1966), and Caroline Foster (1966-1967).
Lake Francis School commemorative plaque (September 2010)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Lake Francis School commemorative plaque (November 2023)
Source: Rose KuzinaSite Coordinates (lat/long): N50.28543, W97.87586
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.
Along the Mission Trail - Lake Francis, Bonnie Doon, Graysfield, Glennie by Lake Francis History Book Committee, 1988, pages 38-52.
“Former Lake Francis School provides a summer home,” Stonewall Argus, 9 July 2015, page 8.
We thank Frances Holm and Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 13 January 2024
Historic Sites of Manitoba
This is a collection of historic sites in Manitoba compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. The information is offered for historical interest only.
Browse lists of:
Museums/Archives | Buildings | Monuments | Cemeteries | Locations | OtherInclusion in this collection does not confer special status or protection. Official heritage designation may only come from municipal, provincial, or federal governments. Some sites are on private property and permission to visit must be secured from the owner.
Site information is provided by the Manitoba Historical Society as a free public service only for non-commercial purposes.
Send corrections and additions to this page
to the MHS Webmaster at webmaster@mhs.mb.ca.Help us keep history alive!
