The Macdonald School District was established formally in February 1883 and a school operated on the northwest corner of 15-7-2E in the Rural Municipality of Macdonald. In 1895, the building was moved to the northeast corner of 21-7-2E, on the opposite side of the road from the Avonlea Cemetery, where it operated until 1906 when it was replaced by a new structure. The original schoolhouse was sold and renovated into a private residence.
Among the teachers of Macdonald School were Eva Porter (1907), Allena MacGillivray (1907), Miss Olive Dryden (1908), Arthur C. Husband (1909), Miss Edna Daggett (1909), H. Hinson Best (1911), Miss Olivier H. Brown (1912-1914), T. Tozer (1912-1914), Katherine St. John (1914-1915), Miss St. John (1915-1916), Cecil J. Burrows (1915-1916), Elizabeth Hiscock (1916-1917), Nellie Phippen (1917-1918), Mary E. Taylor (1918-1919), Irene Lee (1919-1920), Margaret Smith (1919-1922), Esther Kemp (1921-1922), Emily M. Cox (1922-1924), Ruth Dobbs (1924-1925), Marjory Toley (1924-1925), Miss Cora M. Dunbar (1925-1926), Miss L. Tyson (1926-1927), Miss Jean Kirkup (1927-1928), Miss Laura Fraser (1928-1929), Ruby Mitchell (1928-1929), Miss Constance James (1929-1930), Mildred Ratcliffe (1930-1931), Miss Renata Doern (1932-1936), Miss Viola Carefoot (1936-1939), Miss Dorothy Haulden (1939-1940), and Miss Wilma Clarke (1940-1943).
The school closed in June 1943 and the schoolhouse was sold in 1952. The following year, the district was dissolved and its catchment area merged into the Domain Consolidated School District No. 2342. A sign at the former school site, erected by the municipality in 2014, commemorates it.
The second Macdonald School building (no date) by E. D. Parker
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 81.
Macdonald School commemorative sign (September 2014)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Macdonald School commemorative sign (August 2022)
Source: Rose KuzinaSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.59059, W97.25386
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Connor School No. 476 (Macdonald, RM of Portage la Prairie)
Down Memory Lane: A History of Domain Community, 1876-1967 by Domain Women's Institute, c1967, pages 96-97.
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.
Financial support for research reported on this page was provided by the Manitoba Heritage Grants Program (grant 12F-C101, 2012-2013).
We thank Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 4 December 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!
