The Magnet School District was established in January 1901 and a one-room schoolhouse operated near the railway stop of Magnet (NW15-27-15W) in what is now the Rural Municipality of Lakeshore. In 1936, the district became part of the Lawrence Municipal School District. The original school building was destroyed by fire in 1962 so the unused Methley School building was brought to the site. It operated until 1967 when the school closed permanently, after which the building was used by the congregation of Magnet United Church until December 1973. The abandoned school building was still present at the time of a 2024 site visit.
Among the teachers of Magnet School were Miss Anderson (1919), Miss Eliza Steenson (1919), Mr. Elliott (1920), Robert Wrenshall (1925), Edna Halfenbrack Barnett (1932-1934), Olive McMahan (1938), Ernie Walker, Nick Wadenski, Miss Kissick, Jean Rehaluk, Marge Holowka, Joy Wilson, Kristine Olaffson, Arnold Holowachuk, Thomas Schura (1956-1960), and Leo Hrushowy (1961-1967).
The former Magnet School building (June 2019)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
The former Magnet School building (September 2024)
Source: Kaylee Johnson
Interior of the former Magnet School building (June 2019)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N51.31772, W99.50330
denoted by symbol on the map above
“The local round,” Dauphin Herald, 20 October 1938, page 9.
Rorketon East topographic map, 62O/5 East, Edition 1, Series A743 [Archives of Manitoba].
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.
Opening the Door - The Past Comes Alive, The History of the Rural Municipality of Lawrence by Lawrence Municipality History Committee, 1997, page 128.
We thank Kaylee Johnson for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 2 October 2024
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