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Principals | Vice-Principals | Teachers | Photos & Coordinates | Sources
The first school classes in Minnedosa, within the Minnedosa School District, were held in a log structure on Minnedosa Avenue opposite the present-day Court House. Between 1882 and 1883, it was replaced with a two-storey brick building designed by Winnipeg architect William T. Dalton and erected on the side of a hill on the southwest side of town. By 1897, the structure was condemned as unsafe and students were moved to makeshift classrooms in the town hall until a two-storey, four-room building, designed by Winnipeg architect George Browne, could be built the following year on Main Street South. South School opened in October 1898. This school served the community’s needs alone until 1909 when overcrowding necessitated the construction of a second school, deemed the “North School”.
South School No. 1 was destroyed by fire on 19 February 1923 and was replaced in early 1924 by a one-storey, six-classroom structure. It closed in 1971 and was demolished. A commemorative plaque at the former school site was erected in July 1993.
Noteworthy graduates of the South School include William John Rose, Grace Anne Stewart, Ralph Pearson, Jim Wright, and Woodrow St. John.
Period
Principal
1885
James Campbell (1842-1917)
1885-1886
F. W. Montgomery
1886-1887
John Henry Sparling (1862-1922)
1887-1889
George Allison Grierson (1867-1931)
1890-1891
George Erskine
1891-1892
R. Moir
1892-1901
George Allison Grierson (1867-1931)
1901-1902
Jonathan Hughes Arnett (1879-1953)
1902-1903
A. E. Bence
1903-1904
F. W. Turnbull
1905
A. E. Bence
1905-1906
David Bruce Huggins (1879-1955)
1906-1907
David Williamson Yuill (1878-1970)
1907-1909
Herbert Hanford “Harry” McIntosh (1880-1953)
1909-?
Some of the early teachers who taught at the South School were Miss Murchison, Miss Leslie, and Miss Montgomery.
Period
Teachers
1883
F. W. Montgomery (all grades)
1884
F. W. Montgomery (all grades)
1885
James Campbell (senior grades, Spring), Lucied? Mand? (junior grades, Fall), F. W. Montgomery (junior grades, Spring; senior grades; Fall)
1886
F. W. Montgomery (senior grades; Spring), John Henry Sparling (senior grades, Fall), Lou? Waind? (junior grades)
1887
Arthur J. Baker (junior grades, Fall), George Allison Grierson (senior grades, Fall)John Henry Sparling (senior grades, Spring), Lou? Waind? (junior grades, Spring)
1888
Arthur J. Baker (junior grades, Spring), George Allison Grierson (senior grades), Annie M. Shaw (junior grades, Fall)
1889
George Allison Grierson (senior grades), Annie M. Shaw (junior grades)
1890
George Erskine (senior grades), Annie M. Shaw (junior grades)
1891
George Erskine (all grades, Spring), Louisa Hill (junior grades, Fall), R. Moir (senior grades, Fall)
1892
George Allison Grierson (senior grades, Fall), R. Moir (senior grades, pt Spring), Luella Rook (senior grades, pt Spring), Annie M. Shaw (junior grades)
1893
Minnie Beddome (grades ?, Fall), George Allison Grierson (senior grades), Annie M. Shaw (junior grades, Spring; grades ?, Fall)
1894
Agnes L. Darroch (Fall), George Allison Grierson (senior grades), Annie M. Shaw, Jean M. Wellwood (Spring)
1895
Agnes L. Darroch, George Allison Grierson (senior grades), Annie M. Shaw
1896
Alfred E. Cook, Agnes L. Darroch (Spring), George Allison Grierson (senior grades), Luella Rook (Fall)
1897
Alfred E. Cook, George Allison Grierson (senior grades), Maggie G. Hickie, Luella Rook
1898
Alfred E. Cook, George Allison Grierson (senior grades), Maggie J? Hickie, Luella Rook
1899
Alfred E. Cook, George Allison Grierson (senior grades), Maggie J? Hickie, Luella Rook, Nellie Wake
1900
Josie S. M. Bliss?, Alfred E. Cook, Eva E. Greene, George Allison Grierson (senior grades), Maggie G. Hickie (Spring), Winnifred S. Wellwood (Fall)
1901
Jonathan Hughes Arnett (senior grades, Fall), Josie S. M. Bliss?, Alfred E. Cook, George Allison Grierson (senior grades, Spring), Maude [Mande?] McGillivray, Annie Moor (Fall), Winnifred S. Wellwood (Spring)
1902
records not available
1903
records not available
1904
records not available
1905
Saby Alexander (Fall), Christina G. Armit (Spring), A. E/P? Bence (senior grades, Spring), Margaret Dumsiuk?, Jamie A. Holden (Fall), David Bruce Huggins (senior grades, Fall), Nellie Rear, Maggie R. Stuart (Spring), Winifred S? Welwood, Nellie Wilson
1906
Saby G? Alexander (Spring), Annie S. Graham (Fall), Jamie A. Holden (Spring), David Bruce Huggins (senior grades, Spring), Millie Loftuso Nellie Rear, Jessie T. Wellwood (Fall), Nellie Wilson, David Williamson Yuill (senior grades, Fall), Winifred W. Yuill (Fall)
1907
Margaret Drummond, Anna S. Graham, Cora R. L. Fisher (Fall), Herbert Hanford “Harry” McIntosh (senior grades, Fall), Elta M. Moore (Fall), Nellie Rear, Ella Somerville (Fall), Jessie T. Wellwood (Spring), Nellie Wilson, David Williamson Yuill (senior grades, Spring), Winifred W. Yuill (Spring)
1908
Margaret Drummond, Cora R. L. Fisher (Spring), Annie S. Graham, Edith Johnston (Fall), Herbert Hanford “Harry” McIntosh (high school, senior grades), Etta M. Moore (high school), Nellie Rear, Eva E. Swinback? (Fall), Ella Somerville (Spring), Nellie Wilson
1909
(South School & North School): Sydney E. Clarke (Fall), Margaret Drummond (Spring), Olive A. Ferguson (Spring), Annie S. Graham, Edith Johnston (Spring), Francis G. McGill (Fall), Herbert Hanford “Harry” McIntosh (high school, senior grades), Etta M. Moore (high school), Nellie Rear (Spring), Eva E. Swinback? (Spring), Mabel A. Taylor (Fall), Pearl M. Tinline? (Fall), Helen Wellwood (Fall), Nellie Wilson (Spring)
The first school in the vicinity of Minnedosa, built in 1883 southwest of the town (no date)
Source: S. J. McKee Archives, Minnedosa Womens Institute, Village History 1878-1956.
Minnedosa South School No. 1, used from 1898 to 1923 (no date)
Source: S. J. McKee Archives, Minnedosa Womens Institute, Village History 1878-1956.
Minnedosa South School No. 2 (no date) by W. C. Hartley
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 81.
Minnedosa South School plaque (August 2012)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N50.24546, W99.83882
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Minnedosa School No. 232 / Minnedosa North School (Minnedosa)
Annual Reports of the Manitoba Department of Education, Manitoba Legislative Library.
A History of Minnedosa, 1878-1948 compiled by the Minnedosa Women’s Institute, 1948.
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.
Board of Education registers (A 0050), GR7643, Archives of Manitoba.
Summative half-yearly returns for school districts (A 0051), GR0571, Archives of Manitoba.
School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.
We thank Dorothy Brooking and John Perrin for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 15 June 2024
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